The golden days of the early English church from the arrival of Theodore to the death of Bede

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THE GOLDEN

OF THE

^RLY ENGLISH CHUR'

SIR HENRY HOWORTH

I

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1

THE GOLDEN DAYS OF THE
EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

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Orxamentai, Intiiai. Letter of the Gospel of St. John in the

LiNDISFARNE M.S.

/'('/. ///., Frontispiece.

THE GOLDEN DAYS

OF THE EARLY

ENGLISH CHURCH

FROM THE ARRIVAL OF THEODORE
TO THE DEATH OF BEDE

By Sir HENRY H. HOWORTH

K.C.I.E., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.S.A.

PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL ARCH.?iOLOGICAL INSTITUTE AND
TRUSTEE OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM

AUTHOR OF

'the LIVES OF POPE GREGORY THE GREAT AND AUGUSTINE THE MISSIONARY'

"the HISTORY OF THE MONGOLS" ETC. ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
MAPS, TABLES, AND APPENDICES

VOL. Ill

LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.

1917

DEC 1 2 1933

//3/3

All rights reserved

CONTENTS

CHAPTER XI

PAGE

St. Cuthberht ....... i

CHAPTER XII
St. Cuthberht's Contemporaries, Friends, and Pupils io6

APPENDIX I
The Royal and High-Born Nuns . . . -175

APPENDIX II
Archbishop Theodore's Penitential . . . 238

APPENDIX III
CiEDMON, THE Morning Star of English Poetry . 262

APPENDIX IV

The Memorial Crosses of the Seventh Century in

Northern England ..... 302

APPENDIX V

The Codex Amiatinus of the Bible: Its History and

Importance . . . . . . .321

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES

Volume I .... . -339

Volume II . . . . . . .361

Volume III . . . . . . .384

Index . . . . . . . -395

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Ornamental Initial Letter of the Gospel of St.

John in the Lindisfarne MS. . . . Frontispiece

FACING PAGE

Map of Farne Island . . . . . .20

Eyre, St. Cuthberht, p. 42.

The Cross of Bishop Trumberht . . . .32

Bishop Browne, Theodore and Wilfrith, p. 162,

The Coffin of St. Cuthberht, restored from its

Remains in the Library of Durham Cathedral . 68

The Feretory of St. Cuthberht, at Durham . . 82

From Smith's Bede, p. 264.

Details of St. Cuthberht's Coffin . . 94, 96

From Raine's St. Cuthberht,

St. Cuthberht's Portable Altar and Pectoral Cross 98

From Bishop Browne, op. cit. pp. 105, 279.

Section of the Shaft of the Supposed Cross of

Bishop tEthelwold . . . . .104

Specimens of the Writing in the Lindisfarne MS.,

INCLUDING the DESCRIPTION OF THOSE WHO PUT IT

together, a Portion of the Text with Glosses,
AND AN Ornamented Capital . . . .108

From Westwood, Palaographia Biblica, Plate 45.

Ornamental Letter from the Gospel of St. Luke
in the Lindisfarne MS. . . . . .112

Initial Page of One of the Five Divisions of the

Lindisfarne MS. . . . . . .116

A Similar Page with Different Pattern . .118

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vii

FACING PAGE

The Acca Cross . . . . . .144

Details of Acca's Cross ..... 146

Ivory Tablet in the British Museum commemorating

St. Eanswitha . . . . . .186

Crosses of Heiu and Bregusuid found at Hartlepool.
With these I have placed a Fragment of a Cross
OF Larger Size and somewhat Different Pattern
from the same Place . . . . . 188

Hubner, Insc. Brit., pp. 63, 69, 70.

Memorial Cross of Hildithryth (probably St. Hilda),
found at Hartlepool . . . . .188

lb. p. 69.

Memorial Crosses of Hildegyth, Berchtgyd, and

KaNEGUT (?), FOUND AT HARTLEPOOL . . l88, I90
lb. pp. 69, 70.

Seal of Archdeacon Boniface, found at Whitby . 202

From Haigh, Yorks. Arch, and Top. Soc. Journ., vol. iii. p. 370.

Memorial Crosses of Oedilburga and Trecca . . 202

Hubner, op. cit. pp. 66, 67.

Memorial Stone of Huaetburga . . . . 202

Hubner, op. cit. p. 66.

Supposed Reliquary of St. Cyniburga at Peterborough,
and Base of the Cross of Owin, St. ^theldrytha's
Steward, from Haddenham, Cambridgeshire . 202

Hubner, op. cit. p. 61.

The Boundaries of Eormenberga's Estate in Thanet,

marked by the Course traversed by a Hunted Deer 226

From Thomas of Elmham's Chronicle, Rolls Series.

The Figures of Christ on the Ruthwell and Bew-
castle Crosses, showing their Close Resemblance
IN Style and pointing to the same Artist and
the same Period ...... 310

From Mr. J. C. Montgomerie's photograph.

;t6-3i

Vol. 11

VIU

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGE

Portion of a Cross at Jedburgh, of the same Style
AND Ornament as one side of that at Bewcastle

AND OF some of THE FRAGMENTS AT HeXHAM . 312

We have no evidence as to the person by whom or to whom
this Jedburgh Cross was erected. See Stuart, Sculptured
Stones of Scotland.

Dedication of the Codex Amiatinus in its present

Altered Form ...... 322

Plan of the Jewish Tabernacle, from the Codex

Amiatinus ....... 324

Ezra writing his Bible Text, from the Codex
Amiatinus \ to be compared with the Figure of
St. Matthew in the Lindisfarne MS., opposite
page 328 ....... 326

Figure of St. Matthew writing his Gospel, from

THE Lindisfarne MS. ..... 328

See Westwood, op. cit. Plate 45.

Plan of the Crypt at Repton .... 386
East End of the Church at Cor bridge . . . 386

Note. — I am greatly indebted to the Authors and Publishers of
the works I have quoted for their permission to use the plates 1
have borrowed from them.

THE GOLDEN DAYS

OF THE

EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

CHAPTER XI

ST. CUTHBERHT

We will now turn from the Civil history of
Northumbria at this time to its Ecclesiastical
history. The most prominent figure in it was
doubtless Cuthberht, not that he fills any notable
place among the makers of history, but that in
romance and popular estimation the ascetic hermit
of Fame outweighs all his clerical contemporaries in
the north, in fame and in the potency he exercised
not only when living but more especially after he
was dead. I shall take it for granted here that
the Irish legend of the origin of Cuthberht is a
fable, as I have shown in the introduction. His
name is English, and in his poetical life of the
Saint, Bede says he was born in Britain.-^ It is,
nevertheless, a strange proof of the power of some
legends that Ussher, Ware, Colgan, and even Dr.
Reeves in his notes to Wattenbach should have

^ Op. cit. chap. i.
VOL. III. — I

2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

countenanced the view, and it was certainly
countenanced very largely at Durham.

It is clear from the absence of any reference to
the place of his birth or to his parentage that he
was of humble origin. Bede claims that he had
heard a story about his early life from Trumwine,
the Bishop of the Picts/ who had been told it by
Cuthberht himself. It illustrates the extravagant
ascetic views then prevailing, which extended even
to small children, who were taught that it was
really wicked to jest and play games with other
boys. Cuthberht excelled at such pastimes, and
was a leader in them, and never seemed to weary,
notably at leaping, running, wrestling, or standing
on his head. One day a number of boys, Cuthberht
being one, were engaged in a wrestling match in
a meadow, when a small boy of about three years
old ran up to him and exhorted him not to
indulge in such idle sports, but to subject his mind
as well as his limbs to a grave deportment. When
Cuthberht took no heed of what he said, the small
boy began to weep bitterly and, addressing him,
asked how he who had been consecrated by God
to teach even his elders could thus behave and be
thus frivolous among children. Cuthberht listened
attentively, and, being much moved by what the
smaller child had said, altered his conduct, **and
thus," moralises our historian, "the wantonness of
a boy was restrained by the agency of a child." ^

A story like this is the despair of history, for

^ Bede, //.£"., iv. I2. ^ gp^ ^//^ chap. iii.

CUTHBERHTS CHILDHOOD 3

Cuthberht must himself have been a child under eight
years at the time, and he actually told the story of him-
self ! What is not less remarkable is Bede's filling so
large a space in his history with the tale, and being
evidently in full sympathy with its moral, namely,
that it was wicked for children to romp and play.
It is remarkable that a thousand years later the same
theories in regard to children were revived again in
the same form, and are known to us as Puritanism !

The story here told from Bede is not contained
in the earlier biography of the Lindisfarne monk.
Of Cuthberht's early life, as there reported, we only
know that he was brought up from about the age
of eight by a widow named Kenswith or Kensped,
at a village called Hruringaham or Ruringaham.
Mr. C. Bates suggests the possibility that the
harrying of Northumberland by Caedwalla and
Penda after the death of JEdw'm in 62,3 may easily
have left him an orphan and Kenswith a widow.^

The first incident reported of Cuthberht, both
in the Anonymous Life and by Bede, represents
him as a shepherd-boy tending his master's flock

^ " The Home of St. Cuthberht's Boyhood," Arch. AeL, new
series, x. 155.

The same ingenious writer says that this Ruringaham was
probably represented by a farm called Wrangham on high ground,
about a mile and a half to the north-east of Doddington, in Glendale,
on the way to Lindisfarne, and he contests the claims of the Scotch
writers who favour a village six miles east of Melrose. The former is
generally called Wrangham in the Dryburgh muniments. Mr. Bates
says that one of the wells at Doddington is dedicated to St. Cuthberht,
while a cave called Cuddy's Cave, which, according to uniform
tradition, was once inhabited by the Saint, is situated near the village
of Holborn in a direct line between Wrangham and Lindisfarne
{ib. 158).

4 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

(commendans suis pecora quae pascebit dominis) ^ on
the hills bordering the river Leder. The name
of the river is given in the former authority only.
It is a stream now called the Leader, and coming
from the north falls into the Tweed two miles
below Melrose.^ Montalembert compares his life
there with that of the shepherds of Hungary in the
pMstas on both sides of the Danube.^

While his companions were asleep, Cuthberht,
we are told, saw a sudden light streaming down
from above, in which were choirs of angels coming
down from heaven and then returning to their
heavenly home escorting a soul of exceeding bright-
ness, and he judged that he must have been either
a bishop or some holy man among the faithful.
When morning came it turned out, so says the
saga, that Saint Aldan of Lindisfarne had died that
very night and at the time when Cuthberht had his
vision. The shepherd boy thereupon determined to
abandon his occupation and to enter a monastery.*

The equation between this story and Aldan's
death makes it probable that Cuthberht adopted
the monastic life In 651, and in that year it is
dated by Symeon of Durham.^

The monastery he chose was close to his own
home, namely, that of Melrose, then called Mallros.^

^ Bede, Vit. Oith., chap. liv. ^ Raine, St. Cuthberht, p. i6.

3 Op. cit. iv. 381.

* Vit. Anon., par. 8 ; Bede's Prose Life, ch. iv. ; Metr. Life, ch. iv.
' i. 3-

^' The name has a Celtic etymology, imil meaning bare and rhos
a promontory (see Archbishop Eyre, Cuthberht, 13).

CUTHBERHT AT MELROSE 5

This, says Dr. James Raine, is not the religious
house which we know so well, but an earlier
monastic establishment a short distance below it,
on the same bank of the Tweed. The site of it is
still called Old Melrose. It is on a green sheltered
slope a little below the point where the Tweed
receives the scanty waters of the Leader, and then
takes a bold semicircular sweep under the woods
and rocks of Bemerside.^

Melrose was an offshoot from Lindisfarne, and
its foundation was attributed to St. Aidan. At this
time Eata, one of his pupils and its first abbot, was
still there, and Boisil was the praepo situs, or prior.
Bede describes the latter as possessing many virtues
and as having a prophetic spirit, of which some
reported instances will be related presently.
Another Bosel, or Boisil, became the first Bishop of
Worcester.^ The name of the prior survives in
the little town of St. Boswells on the Tweed, and
in the dedication of the church at Tweedmouth.^

When Cuthberht applied for admission into the
fraternity at Melrose, Eata was away, and he was
received by Boisil, who foreseeing, we are told, the
great career which he was presently to have, com-
pared him to Nathaniel. Bede claims that this
story had been told him by a certain Sigfred, who
was a youth in the monastery at Melrose at the
time. He afterwards became "a devout priest and
long-tried servant of the Lord in our monastery,"

^ Diet, of Chr. Biog., i. 725. ^ Vide supra, ii. 374, 388.

2 Plummer, ii. 267.

6 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

that is to say, at Jarrow. Bede says he was in
failing health, but he seems to have recovered and
eventually become Abbot of Wearmouth, dying
in 689.

Boisil kept Cuthberht near himself and cherished
him. A few days later Abbot Eata returned, and
he received permission to give the young shepherd
the tonsure and to install him as one of the brother-
hood, among whom he became conspicuous for his
diligence in reading, working, watching, and praying.
He was strong and vigorous, and, Bede says, that,
like Samson, who was a Nazarite, he abstained
from intoxicating drinks, but otherwise he did not
exercise exceptional abstinence in his food, as he
did not wish to unfit himself for his necessary work.
We have seen how King Oswy's son Alchfrid,
for the redemption of his soul, gave Abbot
Eata a domain in his kingdom called Inhrypun
(i.e. Ripon) where to construct a monastery.^
Taking some of the brethren with him, of
whom Cuthberht was one, Eata founded a
monastery there, instituting the same rule as
existed at Melrose. There Eata became abbot,
continuing to hold the same post at Melrose, while
Cuthberht was appointed guest-master or hospi-
taller. While he held the office he was reported
to have entertained an angel. The saga is prettily
told, and is worth repeating. One day, going out

* Archbishop Eyre says the monastery is reported to have stood
between Stainergate and Priest's Lane, and to have been called the
Scots Monastery {op. cit. 17, note).

CUTHBERHT AT RIPON 7

early In the morning from the inner buildings
of the monastery to the guest-chamber, he found
a young man sitting there, and thinking he was
a mortal he entertained him in the usual way.
He gave him water to wash his hands with,
and himself bathed his feet, wiped them with a
napkin and placed them in his bosom, humbly
chafing them with his hands, as was apparently
his wont with travellers. He asked him to
remain till the third hour of the day, that he might
then be refreshed with food, and be better able to
face the snowy blasts which he would meet. The
stranger said he could not stay, for he had very
far to go. Cuthberht still pressed him to remain,
and when the hour of tierce had arrived and meal-
time was at hand, he laid the table and offered his
guest food, and bade him refresh himself while he
went out to get some newly baked bread. When
he returned his guest was gone, and he saw no
footprints in the snow. Thereupon Cuthberht,
who greatly wondered, replaced the table in the
inner apartment, on entering which he perceived
a sweet fragrance all about, and looking round
he saw three loaves of uncommon whiteness and
beauty, and he said to himself that an angel of
God must have visited him. He had come to
feed and not to be fed, since the loaves were such
as earth cannot produce. They surpassed lilies in
whiteness, roses in smell, and honey in flavour,
and must have come from the paradise of Eden.
From that time so greatly did his sanctity and zeal

8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

increase, that he was often allowed to see and con-
verse with angels, and when hungry was refreshed
with food specially prepared for him by the Lord.^

In 66 1 Eata and the brethren he had with him
at Ripon, having refused to follow King Alchfrid
when he adhered to the Roman use, returned once
more to Melrose, and were replaced at Ripon by
St. Wilfrid. A year later an epidemic broke out
in the north, the precursor of the plague of 664.
A year later still, the epidemic was ravaging
England, and among those who were attacked
and succumbed was Boisil, the prior of the abbeys
at Lindisfarne and Melrose. Cuthberht was also
attacked, and the brethren spent all the night in
watching and praying for his life and recovery.
When he heard of what they had done, he is
reported to have said : '* What am I doing in bed ?
It is impossible that God should shut His ears to
the prayers of so many of His devout servants ! "
He thereupon asked for his staff and hosen, and,
rising up, tried to walk, leaning on his crutch. His
strength increased daily, and the glandular swelling
in his thigh (which was one of the usual signs of
the plague) was absorbed, but he never quite got
rid of its effects, and he continued to be troubled
with pain from it for the rest of his life. Boisil,
who survived Cuthberht's recovery for seven days,
is said by Bede to have foretold his own death,
and that the pestilence would last for three years
before it would overtake Abbot Eata, when he

^ Vit. A?ion.^ par. 12 ; Bede, Vtt. Cuth.^ chap. vii.

CUTHBERHT AT RIPON 9

too would be taken away, not, however, by the
plague, but by the disease which the doctors
call dysentery (niorbo quern dysenteriam niedici
appellant). This also came about, as did his
prophecy that Cuthberht would become a bishop/

When Boisil warned his pupil Bede that he
had only seven days to live, and bade him diligently
try and learn while he himself was able to teach,
Bede asked him w^hat book he would advise them
to read together which would take a week only
to get through. ''St. John the Evangelist,'' he
replied, ''for my copy of the book is^ stitched in
seven sections, and we can read one every day."^

The famous relic-hunter, ^Ifrld Westowe,
claimed to have removed the remains of Boisil
from Melrose to Durham,^ and in Segbrok's
catalogue of relics, dated in 1383, we have
recorded: "The scull of St. Boysll the priest
in a shrine ornamented with silver and gold and
divers images ; the book of St. Boysll, the school-
master of St. Cuthberht ; some of the robes and
hair of St. Boysll the priest in a little ivory casket ;
the inner tunic of St. Boysil the priest in an ivory
turret, with images of gold and silver wonderfully
ornamented ; the comb of St. Boysil the priest in
a black case."

Boisil was succeeded in his office by Cuthberht.

^ Bede, Vit. Cuth., chap. viii.

^ See Bede, Vit. Cuth., chap. viii. ; Raine's Bede., 19. Turgot
says this book was in 1000 still kept at the Church of Durham {Sym.
Dun., i. chap. 3). As we shall see, it is probable that it still exists.
■ * Raine's Cuthberht^ 60.

I o GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

On becoming prior, Cuthberht did not relax in
his zeal, but, as Bede puts it, he worked hard at
converting the surrounding populace far and wide.
He reports how many of them had profaned religion
by their evil ways, and in the time of the plague had
abandoned the sacrament of the faith which they
had adopted, and had had recourse to the remedies
offered by their old idolatry, and by means of
incantations and amulets, and other mysteries of
demoniacal art, had sought to arrest the pestilence
which had been sent by the Almighty. This, as it
stands, reads rather like a fatalistic argument.^

Cuthberht used, like his master Boisil, to
travel about the country, preaching and instructing
the people in the neighbouring villages. *'lt was
then the custom," says Bede, '' when a clerk or
priest came to a village for all the villagers to
throng and hear him." Cuthberht was wont to visit
remote districts situated in wild mountainous places
** fearful to behold," where it was difficult from the
poverty and distance to supply them with in-
structors, and where the old ways, no doubt, con-

^ These amulets [alligaturae they are called in the biography of
the Saint, while in his Eccl. History Bede calls them phylacteries)
were used by the early Christians, and much patronised by them.
The latter took them over from paganism, merely changing the
formulae, which were supposed to have curative properties. Raine
aptly quotes a modern instance from the proceedings of the Court
of the Vicar-General at Durham on the 23rd July 1604, when at
Wooler a man and woman were charged as common charmers of
the sick, " who used to bring white ducks or drakes, and to sett
their bills in the mouths of the sick persons, meanwhile mumbling
uppe their charms in such strange manner as is damnable and
horrible" (Raine's Cuthberht^ 19, note).

CUTHBERHT AS AN EVANGELIST ii

tinued to survive, to much later times, in spite
of all effort. He was often away for a week or
even a month at a time on these errands, being
all the time in the mountains.^ It was customary
for the travelling missionaries, and notably for
St. Cuthberht, to use tents on such journeys.^

There were, in remote places, lonely groups
of shepherds' huts, which having been roughly put
together in summer were in winter ruinous and
deserted. Stevenson speaks of these temporary
habitations being still to be seen among the wilder
Northumbrian hills, and as being called " sheals " or
" shealings," and of their having long before arrested
the attention of Camden when he visited this part of
the country. The latter says of them : " All over
'the wastes,' as they call them, as well as in Gilsland,
you would think you saw the ancient nomadi, a
martial sort of people that from April to August lie
in little huts, which they call sheals or shealings,
here and there among their several flocks."^

Once when Cuthberht found himself benighted,
he entered one of these shealings to pass the night.
He tied his horse to a ring in the wall, and set
before it a bundle of hay, or rather of thatch,
which the wind had blown from the roof, to
eat, and meantime spent the night in prayer.
Suddenly in the midst of the psalmody he noticed
the horse raise its head, and pulling at the thatching

^ Bede, Vit. Cuth.^ chap. ix.

2 See Bede, Op. Min.^ 109-277 ; " tabernaculo soleinus in itinere
vel in bello uti^'' Bede, Op.., xii. 249 ; Plummer, Bede., ii. 240.
^ Camden, Brit, ed., 1679.

1 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

of the roof draw it down. There fell out of it a
folded napkin, in which the Saint found a loaf and
a piece of meat yet warm, sufficient for a single
meal. He divided these, and gave one-half to
the horse, reserving the rest for himself. This
story Bede claims that he heard from a devout
priest of his own monastery named Ingwald, who
reported that he had himself heard it from
Cuthberht after he became Bishop.^

In another story of a miracle we have a nice
trait of the Saint reported. He was on one of his
journeys, accompanied by a boy, when his provisions
ran short, and his companion's dejection was cured
by Cuthberht pointing out a sea-eagle flying aloft,
and remarking that by its agency their want would
be supplied. As they proceeded along the river
bank (the Anon. Life calls it the river Tesgeta)^ they
noticed the eagle sitting there, whereupon he said to
the boy : " Do you see our handmaid ? Run and
search if the Lord has not provided us something."
The boy soon brought back a large fish, which the
bird had captured. ** Why have you not given our
handmaid her share ? " he said. ** Cut it in two,
and give her the portion which she deserves for her
service " — which was accordingly done.^

When he was at Melrose, Cuthberht used to
visit Abbess -^bbe at Coldingham. I have told a
story about one of these visits in a later page.*

^ Bede, Vit. Cuth.^ chap. v.

2 Stevenson suggests this is a corruption of Tevyota, the Teviot.
Bede, Op.^ Hist. Minora, ii. 268.

' Vit, Anon.j par. 17 ; Bede, F//.,xii. * Appendix I.

EARLY MIRACLES OF CUTHBERHT 13

A fourth adventure of his, which happened when
he was visiting the abbey at Tiningham, will also be
found later on.-^

Bede reports another of Cuthberht's miracles,
which also has a local colour, and which he claims
to have learnt about at first hand. A certain
nobleman (comes) called Sibba, who lived near the
river "Opide"(?) (juxta fluvium Opide),^ begged
the Saint to visit his house, where he had a servant
who was at the point of death, and asked him to
cure him. He accordingly blessed some water,
which he bade them give to him. As some of this
was being given to the sick man for the third time
he fell into a deep and tranquil sleep, In which he
remained the whole night, and in the morning was
restored to perfect health. The servant who ad-
ministered the water was called Baldhelm. ** He
is living," says Bede, "to this day, and is now a
priest in the church of Lindisfarne, where he leads
a holy life, and holds it sweeter than honey (7^eferre
melle dulcius kabet) to relate the miracles of the
man of God."^

Of Cuthberht's aversion to, and perhaps dread of,
women, whom he seems to have thought the most
dangerous of worldly pitfalls, we have many stories.
Their rigid exclusion from all the churches where he
was honoured is explained by Symeon of Durham in
his History of the Church of Durham, chap, xxii., as

^ Appendix I.

2 Stevenson suggests a corruption of Tivide, i.e. the Tweed {op.
cit. 279).

^ Bede, Vit. Cuth.^ 25 ; Vit. Anon.^ 36.

1 4 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

due to his horror at the debaucheries and ill-conduct
of the nuns of Coldingham, which I have described
earlier.^ On the death of the royal abbess ^bbe,
Cuthberht insisted that the two sexes at Coldingham
should be rigidly separated, and he afterwards caused
a special church to be built at Lindisfarne, known to
the inhabitants as the '' Grene Cyrice " or Green
Church, since it was situated on a green site, and
he ordered that women who wished to hear Mass or
the reading of the Bible should go thither, and
should never approach the church used by him-
self and his monks. ''This custom," says Bede, '4s
so diligently observed, even to the present day, that
it is unlawful for women to set foot even within the
cemeteries of those churches where Cuthberht's body
in its subsequent peregrinations found a temporary
resting-place, unless compelled to do so by the
approach of an enemy or the dread of fire." Symeon
tells some stories to show how severe the divine
penalty was believed to be for any breach of this
rule. In one case he mentions a certain Sungeova,
daughter of Bevon, called Gamel [ie. the old), who
was struck dead for trying to cross the churchyard
to avoid the puddles outside. Another woman,
the wife of a rich man who afterwards became a
monk, wished to see the beautiful ornaments in
the church, and having ventured to intrude too far
lost her reason and committed suicide.^

The same rule was observed at Durham, where
the Saint afterwards lay. Thus a story is told that

^ Bede, Vi^. Cuth.^ 25 ; Vit. Anon.^ 36. ^ /jist, Ec. Dun.^ ii. 8 and 9.

ST. CUTHBERHTS AVERSION TO WOMEN 15

when David, King of Scotland, married Maud,
daughter of Waltheof, Earl of Northumberland, and
the wedding party was passing through Durham on
their way to Scotland, the bride with her waiting-
maids went, out of motives of curiosity, towards
the church, and had reached the limit appointed to
women in the churchyard when they were told that
no woman ever passed it with impunity. The
Queen good-naturedly turned back, but Helisend,
her waiting-maid, the most skilful embroiderer and
weaver of purple in the kingdom, determined to
make the experiment, and relying on her chastity
put on the black cowl and hood of a monk, and,
without being seen, took up her place in the church.
She was at once struck with trembling, and could
not move, and St. Cuthberht himself, we are told,
in the most offensive terms ordered Bernard the
Sacrist to eject the false monk. This was done.
The offender afterwards became a nun and made
her peace with the Saint.

"It appears," says Mr. Raine, *' that at that time
the line of demarcation was in the churchyard. If it
be true that the blue cross which still reaches from
pillar to pillar in the pavement of the middle aisle
of the nave of the Cathedral at Durham, between
the north and south doors, was at a later period the
ne plus ultra, the Saint must have relaxed con-
siderably in his misogyny."

Mr. Raine tells a similar story, showing that
Cuthberht was no respecter of persons, and accord-
ing to which, Queen Philippa, wife of that most

1 6 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

potent person, Edward in., who in 1333 tried to
sleep with her royal husband in the priory (now the
deanery), was compelled by the monks to quit the
place in hot haste and to seek shelter in the castle,
clad only in her nether garments/

It is a conspicuous feature of Durham Cathedral
that there is no real Lady Chapel, as in most large
churches. The legendary reason for this is because
St. Cuthberht objected to the intrusion of a woman
(even of so great a personage as our Lady) upon his
quarters, and expressed himself in a very emphatic
way to Bishop Pudsey, who proposed to build such
a chapel at the east end, and who thereupon raised
the beautiful, if bizarre, Galilee at the west end. The
story was probably invented to explain the Galilee.

More than one miracle was attributed to this
portion of Cuthberht's career. They are mostly
otiose. I will report one which has more local
colour. There was at this time a monastery at
the mouth of the river Tine in Lothian, which
was afterwards known as Tiningham, and was
dedicated to St. Baldred. It was then a community
of men, and it happened that some of the brothers
were conveying wood for the use of the monastery
on rafts, and when they drew near home and wanted
to draw them to the shore a sudden and tempestuous
wind came from the west and, catching the rafts,
drove them to the mouth of the river. The monks
who were in the monastery noticing this, launched
some boats on the river to help their friends, but

* Raine, St. Cuthberht^ 36 and y].^ notes.

CUTHBERHrS EARLY MIRACLES 17

the current and the wind were too powerful for
them. They then had recourse to prayer, but this
did not seem to avail them for some time, which
was disconcerting, as a number of spectators from
among the common people had gathered together
on the other side of the river. As the monks
sadly watched the rafts drawn out to sea, until
they looked like five little birds floating on the
waves, the people began to jeer at them, deeming
that those who despised the ways of other mortals,
and who had introduced a new rule of life, de-
served to suffer such a calamity. For this attitude
Cuthberht rebuked them, saying it would be more
seemly if they joined their prayers to those of
the brethren ; but they remained churlish', saying,
*' Let no one pray for them ! May God have no
pity on those who have robbed us of our old
worship so that no one knows how to observe
it now ! " Thereupon Cuthberht bent his head to
the ground and the wind abated, and the monks
were able to turn round and to bring back the
rafts again to the beach, with those who steered
them, and to lay them alongside the monastery.
We are told the rustics were ashamed of their
conduct. Bede claims to have heard this story
from a most approved monk of his monastery.

It would seem that St. Cuthberht, like St. Chad,
accepted the decision of the Council of Whitby as
decisive and conformed to the Roman rule, of which,
according to Bede, he then became an ardent
champion.

VOL. III. — 2

1 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

When he had spent some time at Melrose he
was removed by Abbot Eata to Lindisfarne/ as
prior, to teach the rules of monastic perfection with
the authority of a superior. This shows that,
as before at Ripon and Melrose, the practice
of the Irish mission was contrary to the rule
in Benedictine houses, for Eata presided over both
monasteries. On his arrival Cuthberht immediately
began his reforms, and urged the monks who clung
to St. Aidan's ideals, both by his example and
teaching, to adopt the Roman view, while he also
worked assiduously at evangelising the common
people in the neighbourhood, and became very
famous for his alleged miracles — curing sickness,
easing men's troubles and torments, and con-
founding evil spirits when present, by his touch,
his prayers, his commands, or by exorcism, and,
when absent, by prayer only.

His new discipline was not welcome to some of
the monks, who preferred the ancient customs to
the new Rule, but he won them over by tactful
patience, and by daily practice brought them
gradually round to his view. In the Chapter of
the brethren he frequently discussed his " Rule,"
and when angry comments were made he would
dismiss the assembly with some gentle words ;
and would then depart, and resume his appeal
the following day as if nothing had happened,

* Lindisfarne is now known as Holy Island. It received the latter
name, according to Archbishop Eyre, in the time of Bishop Carilef,
and it first occurs in a charter of 1093 {op. cit. 16).

CUTHBERHT AS PRIOR OF LINDISFARNE 19

and as if he were starting afresh. He thus won
them round by his perseverance. Whatever op-
position or trouble he had to meet he bore it all
with a cheerful countenance.-^

It would seem that sometimes he would pass three
or four consecutive nights in vigil and meditation,
during which he did not return to his own bed nor
was there any other place out of the dormitory
of the brethren where he could sleep. On these
occasions he either devoted himself continuously to
prayer or worked at some handicraft in the intervals
of psalmody, or else he went round the island to
examine each part of it. He used to reprove the
brethren when they complained of being roused
from their sleep at night or at noonday (meridianae
quietis teinpore) ^ — this phrase shows the monks had
their siesta in Northumbria as in Italy.

He was of a very sensitive nature, and Bede
says he could not complete the Office of the Mass
without a profuse flood of tears, and when his
penitents were confessing to him he would be the
first to take compassion on them by weeping, and
thus won over sinners to his way of life by his
own example. The gift of tears was very much
more available to the preacher in those emotional
days. Bishop Stubbs describes it as curiously un-
intelligible at the present day, but he probably never
attended the revival services among the Methodists
and other Nonconformist bodies. Bede at all events
seems to speak of it as quite usual in the pulpit.^

^ Bede, Vit. Cuth.^ chap. 16. ^ lb. ' Comp. 0pp. ^ vii. 364.

20 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Dunstan used it freely ; thus we are told of him
** Sanctus quoque Spiritus . , , in oculorum rivulis
elicuity ^ "Of Alcuin, on the other hand, it is said
that he poured out his sermon with many groans,
but very seldom gave way to tears." ^

Cuthberht's dress was ordinary and not remark-
able either for neatness or slovenliness. It was
the custom at Lindisfarne that none should wear
varied or costly colours in their garments, but only
use the natural colour of the wool.^

After passing several years in the monastery at
Lindisfarne, probably as prior, he at length departed
with the good wishes of the Abbot Eata and the
brethren, and sought out what he had long craved
for, namely, a life of secret solitude. It had been his
practice when at Lindisfarne to withdraw at times
into a certain place outside, where he was more
secluded. The Irish monks used to call such a retreat
** a disart." This absolute withdrawal from the duties
of his position for purely personal reasons, and de-
voting himself meanwhile to the morbid dangers of
secret introspection, was according to even such a man
of sense as Bede a movement from one form of grace
to another still greater (virtute in virtutem). When
at the end he virtually deserted his see and retired
to his cell, his anonymous biographer speaks of
it as ** a forsaking of secular honour."

Raine says that on the southern slope of a long
ridge of hills near the village of Howburn there is

^ Stubbs' Dunstan^ p. 50. ^ Mon. Alc.^ p. 20.

* Vit. Anon.^ chap. 16.

+ ^ly OF ziui^e iSL\i?D

[To/. II I ,^ facing p. 20.

ST. CUTHBERHT BECOMES AN ANCHORITE 21

a cave which has been invariably called Cuthberht's
Cave, or, in the words of the villagers, Cuddy's Cave,
which tradition says was inhabited by him.^

The Saint now felt that this temporary and
periodical retirement was not enough, nor could he
get the absolute seclusion he needed there. The
place he chose for his new retreat was one of a
group of small islets on the Northumbrian coast
known as the Fame Islands, situated, says Bede,
about a thousand paces to the east of Lindisfarne.
His choice fell on the one nearest to the mainland.
Previous to his going thither no man had been able
to live there with any comfort. According to Bede,
this was because the island was infested by demons.
When he settled there, our historian claims that,
armed as he was with heavenly weapons, the wicked
enemy himself and all his host were dispersed.

Mr. Raine thus describes the place : '' Fame
Island consists of a few acres of ground partially
covered with grass and hemmed around with an
abrupt border of basaltic rocks, which on the side
nearest the mainland rises to the height of 80 feet
above the level of the sea. There is, however, a
gentle slope on the side of the ocean, and on this
side Cuthberht erected his habitation. The nearest
point to Fame Island upon the coast is Bamborough
Castle, from which it is distant about two miles
and a quarter. The adjacent islands, all of which
from an early period have been known by their
respective names, are at low water sixteen in

* Op. cit. 20 and 21.

2 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

number, and many of them are totally devoid of
vegetation."^

Among the wild-fowl there the most interesting
are the eider ducks, so connected with the legendary
history of the hermits on the island. In the time
of Reginald of Durham they were called St.
Cuthberht's ducks, and he gives a picturesque
description of them, showing he knew them well.

In the Durham Accounts for 1 380-1, we read:
'* Paid to a painter from Newcastle for painting one
of the birds of St. Cuthberht, as a specimen for the
altar screen {i.e, the reredos), i2d."^

When the Saint first arrived in the island they
were in a natural state of wildness. But he so
tamed them that, if we are to believe the story, he
prescribed places for them to build in, and the
times for their coming and departure, and when-
ever a storm or other trouble was threatening they
fled to him for refuge, while he occasionally
performed miracles on their behalf.^ In the Anon.
Life it is said the ducks used even to allow him to
stroke them and to nestle in his bosom. The
gentleness of the birds and the marked softness of
their down were deemed the results of his special

^ The Farnel slands, till the Dissolution, regularly supplied the
great church at Durham upon days of festivity with porpoises, seals,
and wild-fowl. Thus we read, in the accounts for 1538 : "For one
sea-swine {pore. ?narin.) bought of the Master of Fayrne on the
1st September, los. One sea-calf {vitul. martn.) bought of the
Master of Fayrne, against the Festival of St. Nicholas, 5s." (Raine,
op. cit. 22, note).

Other accounts speak of the sea-fowl " procured out of the Ffarne
yland against the Assize W^eek in 1628" (Raine's Cuthberht^ 22, note).

2 Raine, op. cit. 1 19. » Reg, Dun., 27.

ST. CUTHBERHrS HERMITAGE 23

influence. ''It would appear," says Ralne, "that
the ducks have some recollection of Cuthberht and
his protecting hand, for in the summer of 18 18 I
literally saw one of them hatching her eggs in a
stone coffin overhung with nettles among the ruins
of his mansion." ^

It was not only the birds which responded to
St. Cuthberht's gentle ways. One of the miracles
connected with him reports how once when, as was
his wont, he was bathing in the sea and singing his
vigils, and had been up to the neck in water, two
otters [lutrae ; seals are probably meant) came from
the water, and while the Saint kneeled on a stone,
licked his frozen limbs and wiped them with their hair
until life and warmth returned to his numbed feet.^

The fishermen on the coast of Northumber-
land still hold to the legend that certain little shells
of the genus Eutrochus which are found there,
and which are known as St. Cuthberht's beads,
are made by him, and that he can sometimes be
seen at night seated on a rock and using one
stone as a hammer and another as an anvil for
his work. Scott refers to the story in " Marmion" : —

'* But fain Saint Hilda's nuns would learn
If on a rock by Lindisfarne
Saint Cuthberht sits and toils to frame
The sea-born beads that bear his name.
Such tales had Whitby's fishers told,
And said they might his shape behold
And hear his anvil sound." ^

^ Raine's Cuthberht, 22 and 23.

* Montalembert, iv. 386. ' Op. cit. canto ii.

24 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Bede gives us a few lines in which he describes
the cell (which he elsewhere calls tuguriunculus)
in which Cuthberht spent his hermit days, and
from the site of which he was said to have driven
demons who sheltered in the other Fame islands.
He tells us its containing boundary, for it was
apparently a rath, was nearly circular, about four or
five perches [quinque perticae) from wall to wall.
Outside, the wall was higher than the stature of a
man, while inside, by cutting down into the living
rock, it was made higher still, in order, says his
didactic biographer, " that he might curb the evil
passion [lasciviam) of his eyes as well as of
his thoughts, and raise up his mind to heavenly
desires, for he could see nothing from his house
[de sua tnansione) save heaven. The walls were
built of neither hewn stone {sedo lapide) nor of
brick and mortar (Jatere et caemento), but of un-
wrought stone and of turves, the former of which he
dug out of the foundations. Some of these stones
were so large that it seemed hardly possible for four
men to lift them. Nevertheless it was discovered
that he had removed them from another place.
Bede attributes this to supernatural aid. The cell
was divided into two rooms by a partition : one was
an oratory or chapel and the other a dwelling-
place. The roof was formed of rough beams and
thatched with bent-grass {faeno). From some
other source, Montalembert reports that he sus-
pended the hide of an ox before the entrance of his
grotto, which he turned according to the direction

ST. CUTHBERHrS HERMIT LIFE 25

of the wind, and which afforded him a poor defence
against the intemperance of that wild cHmate.^

At the landing-place on the island there was
a large house {inansio) with outhouses, where the
monks who came to see him were received and
entertained, and near it was a spring of water.^

His dwelling, from being planted on a hard
rock, was in want of water. Thereupon, having
summoned some of the brethren, he asked them
to join with him in digging in the middle of the
hut, as he was assured that He who had turned
the hard rock into a spring of water would provide
them with what they wanted. Apropos of this,
Bede quotes the eighth verse of the 36th Psalm :
'* He will give us to drink of the torrent of
His pleasure." They accordingly dug, and on the
morrow they found the pit was full of water.
They deemed it strange that while the hole was
filled the water did not run over nor wet the
pavement, nor was it ever exhausted.

After his death the Saint's cell was occupied
successively by a series of other anchorites, until
in the beginning of the thirteenth century it became
a cell of Benedictine monks.

St. Cuthberht's buildings still largely remained
intact in the twelfth century, when they were de-
scribed in the life of the anchorite Bartholomew.
It mentions the small low cottage which the Saint
had built of roucfh stone and bent-sfrass, situated
on the north side of the island at the only place

^ Op. cit. iv. 394. 2 Bede, Vit.^ chap. 18.

2 6 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

accessible by a boat. The well was also there,
with the rough narrow pathway leading to the
oratory, which was purposely planted in a secluded
place among the rocks.^

At first when Cuthberht settled at Fame he
used to come out of his cell when the brethren
came to visit him in order to minister to them.
On these occasions he would wash their feet
with warm water, while they in turn offered
to take off his sandals and let them wash his.
So much did he himself neglect his bodily needs
in his anxious care for his soul, that when once
he had put on his long hose or buskins he did not
take them off for a twelvemonth. They were made
of hide, and Mabillon says such hose were still in his
day called des tricouses in France. After Easter
Eve he never took them off again for a year until
the return of the Pasch (the paschal feast was so
called in England), when he was unshod for the
ceremony of ''washing the feet," which was
generally practised on Maundy Thursday.

On account of his many genuflections, extensive
callosities grew at the junction of his feet and legs.

He was still not satisfied with the austerities
he practised. The passion for such rigid penances
grew more and more dominant. "" As his zeal
for perfection grew," says Bede, ** he shut himself
up in his cell, entirely away from the sight of
men, and led a solitary life of fasting, prayer, and
watchings, rarely holding converse from within with

^ See Symeon of Durham^ i. p. 313.

ST. CUTHBERHT'S HERMIT LIFE 27

those that came to him, and this only by the
window. At first he was wont to open the casemate
so that he could be seen by the monks, and when
he chanced to speak to them they greatly rejoiced ;
but presently he shut this up also, and never un-
closed it except for giving the blessing or for some
other avowed necessity."^ This being his practice
we may turn to his theory. As Bede reports in
another part of the same work, he used to protest
to the monks who sometimes visited him that if
it were, possible he would like to secrete himself
in ever so narrow a cell, where the cliffs of the
swelling ocean should gird him round on every
side and shut him out from the siorht as well
as from the knowledge of men ; not even then
would he think himself free from the snares of this
deceitful world, but there also, he would dread that
covetousness might tempt him to leave his retreat
or suggest some other cause to lure him away.^

In regard to his mode of living we read that at
first he used to accept a little bread from his monks
for food, while he drank from the spring in his
cell ; but afterwards he thought it better to live by
the toil of his own hands. He therefore asked
them to bring him some implements of husbandry
and some seed corn (perhaps oats), but when the
midsummer came he found that no corn had grown
up. Thinking it might be that the ground was
too sterile, or that his wish was opposed by the
Almighty, he asked for barley instead of corn, and

1 Bede, Vit. Cuth., chap. 18. 2 Qp^ ^//_ ^hap. 8.

2 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

determined that if this did not grow either, it would
be better for him to return to the monastery rather
than to live by the work of other people's hands.^
They then brought him some barley long after the
season for planting that grain, and there was little
hope of its growing ; but it promptly sprang up.
When it grew the birds came in flocks to eat
it. Bede naively goes on to say (as if he fully
believed the story) that Cuthberht reproved the
birds for having taken barley which they had not
sown, and bade them depart unless they had ob-
tained God's consent. The birds at once flew away
and did not attack the harvest again. Bede compares
this with St. Anthony's feat of restraining the wild
asses from injuring the little garden he had planted.
He tells another story of two crows which had
settled on the island and which began to pull the
thatch out of the roof of his cell to build their
nests with. On his reproving them without effect,
he bade them in Christ's name depart, which
they did. Three days later one of them returned,
approached Cuthberht, spread out its wings, bowed
its head, and uttered humble notes as if soliciting
forgiveness. Thereupon the Saint, who understood
their language, gave them leave to return to the
island. The crow then went to fetch its com-
panion, and they came back together, bringing him
half a flitch of bacon. The Saint used to give some
of the fat from this flitch, which was forbidden food
to him, to the brethren to grease their sandals with.

1 Bede, Vit. Cuth., 19.

ST. CUTHBERHrS HERMIT LIFE 29

The birds presently built their nests on the island,
but never again did they do any harm to any one/

In these and similar stories we see the English
counterpart of St. Francis, whose gentle goodness was
effective in taming the wild ways of men and animals,
and to whom the swallows of Alviano, the water-
bird of Rieti, the pheasant of Sienna, the wolf of
Gubbio, and the falcon of Laverna paid homage.^

It was not only living things which are said to
have ministered to his needs. He had selected a
spot by the seaside where the waves had hollowed
out a deep and narrow cleft about 12 feet wide
(this is still distinctly visible on the island), across
which a bridge had to be laid. He therefore
asked his brother monks, next time they went to
see him, to take a log of wood 12 feet long.
They promised to do so, but entirely forgot it,
and expressed their regret for having overlooked
his order ; but he comforted them and bade them
stay in the island till the next day, when it was
noticed that the tide had in the night drifted in
a log of wood of the proper size and laid it on
shore just where it was needed.^

Attracted by his fame, many people now

^ Bede, Vit. CutJi.^ 20.

^ Archbishop Eyre enumerates other saints who tamed wild
animals, e.g. a wild boar which licked the wounds of St. Andronicus ;
a lioness crouched at the feet of St. Tarachus ; a raven defended the
unburied body of St. Vincent ; St. Martin commanded the serpents
and they obeyed him ; St. Anthony of Padua summoned the fishes
to come to his preaching when the heretics despised it (Eyre, Hist,
of St. Ciithberht., 21).

^ Bede, Vit. Cuth.^ 21.

30 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

repaired to the island, not only from Lindisfarne
but from the remoter parts of Britain, to confess
their sins or to report to him the various tempta-
tions which the devils had put before them, and he
used duly to strengthen and console them by tales
of the impotence of the evil ones. He confessed
how they had often thrust him headlong from the
lofty rocks or thrown stones at him, as if to slay him.
They had also raised up fantastic temptations to
tempt him to flee from the place, but had neverthe-
less never been able to injure his body or to put fear
into his mind. Plummer urges that all this shows
that his mind had, in fact, become unhinged by his
austerities, and he compares him with some of the
wild Covenanters in Old Mortality, who also fancied
they had visible conflicts with the powers of evil.^

He used to remind the brethren that the exalta-
tion of his conversation was largely due to the fact
that, as a hermit, he habitually despised the cares of
the world and dwelt secretly with himself; "yet,"
he added, *'the life of monks is more wonderful,
since they follow in everything another's commands
and arrange their vigils, prayers, fastings, and
manual labour by the orders of their abbot." He
had known, he said, many of them who had
excelled him in purity of mind and in prophetic
grace. As an example he quoted his own master,
Boisil, already named, who had foretold all that
would happen to himself Only one of his pro-
phecies, he said, remained to be fulfilled, which he

* op. cit. Intr., xxx.

BISHOP TRUMBERHTS MONUMENT 31

sincerely hoped would never come about.^ In this
Boisil had foretold that he was to become a Bishop.

Thus did Cuthberht pass his days until the year
684, when for some unknown reason Bishop
Trumberht was deposed from his see. In the life of
Eata it is said it -ws-spro culpa cujusdam inobedientiae.
Perhaps he still clung to St. Aidan's ways too much !
Thereupon, at a synod held in that year at Twyford,
on the Aln, Cuthberht was chosen to fill the see
of Hexham. Both King Ecgfrid of Northumbria
and Archbishop Theodore were present. The post
was offered to the recluse in vain until the King and
Bishop Trumwine went in person to his island, and
after earnest entreaties brought him back to fill a
place for which, by his theories and ideals, he was
singularly ill fitted. He was consecrated at York
as Bishop of Hexham on the 26th of March 685,
by Archbishop Theodore. The vacant see was a
specially unsuitable sphere for such an inveterate
hermit as Cuthberht, and his old master Eata con-
sented to exchange his own diocese of Lindisfarne,
which he knew and where he was well known, and
which was much better suited for him, for that of
Hexham.

There is a considerable probability that the
monument of the deposed Bishop Trumberht still
survives. It has been described by Bishop Browne.
The stone was discovered at Yarm a few years ago,
and was then used as a weight for a mangle. It is
now preserved at Durham. It bears an inscription

^ Bede, Vit. Cuth.^ chap. 22.

3 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

in several lines, six of which are clear enough, and
are written in English minuscules. The first line is
entirely obliterated. The Bishop suggests that very
probably it contained either the word *' Orate" or
perhaps, more probably, the English equivalent
" Gebid fore."

Two letters can still be traced in the second
line of the inscription, which, says Bishop Browne,
are almost certainly p and r. These he expands
into " pro Tru."

The rest of the inscription reads quite plainly —

" mberehc
t >I< sac ►!<
alia ►!< sign
um Aefter
his breodera
ysetae "

The whole would then read in English : —

"Pray for Trumbercht the 'sacerdos.' Alia
(erected) this monument for his brother."

Sacerdos at this time in nearly all cases meant
Bishop, and, as Dr. Browne says, no bishop at
this time, except our Trumberht, bears a name con-
sistent with these letters, while the language of the
inscription is also of the date.^

Cuthberht was only a bishop for about two years,
and we have hardly any information about his
evangelical work, except at Carlisle, where he prob-
ably felt he had a congenial sphere since the country
was only recently occupied and settled by the

^ Browne, T/ieodore and Wilfrid^ i6i and 162.

Shaft of the Cross of Bishop Tru.muerht

[VoL III., facing fi. 32.

i

CUTHBERHTS INFLUENCE IN SCOTLAND 33

Anglians, while the King had given him a rich
estate there. Bede says he went thither especially
to ordain some of his priests and to veil the Queen.
He was there, in fact, when Ecgfrid went on his un-
fortunate expedition against the Picts, and there he
gave the veil to his widowed Queen in a monas-
tery founded by her sister/ His sphere of labours,
however, extended beyond the diocese of Carlisle,
and invites us to make a journey with him.

It would seem that his missionary labours and
his direct influence extended over the whole northern
part of Ecgfrid's dominions. It certainly included
the Lothians, and almost certainly extended to the
Firth of Forth, which was then the northern frontier
of Northumbria on the eastern side of England, and
divided it from the land of the Picts.

Ecgfrid's direct dominations also stretched farther
north on the western side of the English
Apennines than some have thought. On this point
I differ from some other writers. In his Life of St,
Wilfrid, yEddi says: '' sicut . . . E eg frit ho . . .
ixgnum ad Aquilonem . . . per triumphos augebatur^
ita beatae memoriae Wilfritho episcopo . . . ad
Aquilonem. super Brittones et Scottos Picto'sque,
regnum> ecclesiarum Tnultiplicabatur.'"^ This is
an exaggeration, but it seems to me clearly to
imply that Wilfrid was the ecclesiastical head of all
those portions of Ecgfrid's kingdom which were
directly subject to the King, and were not merely
vassal states. There can be no doubt that in

^ Vide ante, ii. 107 and 108. ^ Raine, Historians of York, i, 21.
VOL. III. — 3

3 4 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

addition to the district of Carlisle, where Cuthberht
spent a considerable time shortly before he died/
it included, therefore, the northern as well as the
southern maritime border of the Solway Firth. The
British kingdom of Strathclyde, with its capital at
Dumbarton, was then limited to the strath or water-
shed of the Clyde and did not include the country
south and south-west of it, which was then largely
settled by Anglians.

It is only thus that we can understand how the
diocese of Whitherne, the see of which had been in
abeyance for a long time, was revived at this time,
and why it had a succession of bishops all bearing
Anglian names, and not one of whom probably
could speak the British or the Irish tongue. These
were Pecthelm, Frithuwald, and Pectwine.

It will be useful to recall one or two stories con-
nected with Cuthberht's doings in the land beyond
the Solway Firth. Bede tells us how on one occa-
sion he, ** in pursuit of some matters which required
his presence," embarked on a vessel for the land
of the Picts who were called **Niduarii."^ The
Anonymous Life says they came to a place called

^ Vide ante^ ii. 108-109.

2 It is pretty plain that this voyage to the land of the Niduarii
must have been made along the Solway Firth, which was then
much frequented by travellers going to and fro from Ireland.
The Niduarii were in fact so named from the River Nith (Nid),
which flows into the Solway Firth. In the fabulous Irish life of the
Saint he is said to have landed in Galloway (Galweia), whither he
sailed in a stone-boat from Ireland on his first visit to England, and
that he landed in the region called Rennii, in the port of Rintsnoc
{ib. chap. xix.). This Skene identifies with Portpatrick in the Rinns
of Galloway {Celtic Scotland^ ii. 203).

ST. CUTHBERHT IN SOUTHERN SCOTLAND 35

Mudpieraleges (Stevenson makes this a corruption
of Niduarii). He was accompanied by two of
the brethren, one of whom afterwards became
a priest and was responsible for the miraculous
story which Bede tells. The travellers had
arrived at their bourne on the day after Christmas
Day, the weather was very fine, and the aspect
of the waves was smiling. They had not, there-
fore, taken provisions for a stay, but immediately
on their arrival a tempest came on and prevented
them from starting on their return for several days,
during which they suffered much from cold and
hunger, and the ground was covered with snow.
Meanwhile Cuthberht spent most of his time in
prayer, and presently he took his companions to the
foot of a cliff close by, where they found three pieces
of a dolphin {tria frusta delphininae carnis ; probably
a porpoise is meant), as if cut by human aid and ready
for cooking. As he had foretold, the tempest, after
lasting for three days, abated, and on the fourth day
they returned happily to their own country.^

A saga reports how he came to leave the Picts'
land. It is contained in the Irish life of the Saint,
which, although an apocryphal story, was widely
credited in the Middle Ages. It says that while
he was living as a hermit there the daughter of a
Pictish king accused him of having violated her,
whereupon at the prayer of the Saint the earth
opened and swallowed her up. This was at a place
called Corven, ''whence it was," says the legend,

^ Vit. Anon., 15 ; Bede, Vi'i.j xi.

3 6 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

"that no woman was permitted to enter a church
dedicated to his honour." The story is doubtless a
fable, but the prohibition it was probably invented
to explain is certain.

It is not only Cuthberht's tie with the land of the
Niduarii that attests his influence beyond the Solway
Firth, but also the fact of several churches in
Scotland having been dedicated to him.^ Of these,
the name and associations of Kirkcudbright in
Dumfriesshire are the most interesting. Of the
etymology of this place-name there can be no doubt
whatever. Reginald of Durham calls it *' Cuth-
brictiskhirche," and tells a story about it in which
he says : '' Villula ipsa Cuthbrictis khirche dicitur ;
quae a Beati Cuthberhti memoria, quae in eadem
kabetur ecclesia, nomen sortiri videturT He says it
was situated in the land of the Picts, and adds of it
prettily, ''de fluvio ejus suburbania decurrente blanda
dulcedine perornata esty^ In 1 164 he says ^Ired
of Rievaulx happened to be there on St. Cuthberht's
feast-day, when he saw a man undergoing punish-
ment who was wearing round his naked body a ring
of iron made out of the sword or other weapon with

^ I will take the list from Bishop Forbes' Kalendars of British
Saints'. Ballantrae, Hailes,Glencairn, Denesmor, Kirkcudbright, Glen-
holm, Ednam, Drummelzier, Maxton, Edinburgh, Wick (a chapel),
Prestwick, Hauster, Eccles, Drysdale, Girvan, Ewes in Eskdale,
Straiton in Carrick, Mauchline, Maybole, Invertig, and Weem near
Dunkeld. Fairs in his honour are still held on his day at Langton
in Merse, Poole, Grange, and Linlithgow {op. cit. 318-19). In the
Originales Parochiales it is said that affectionate memorials are still
found at Melrose, Channel Kirk, and Maxton {op. cit. i. Preface,
xxiii).

2 Op. cit. chap. 85.

ST. CUTHBERHT IN SOUTHERN SCOTLAND 37

which he had committed a crime. This had created
an ulcerous sore. The man having heard of the
virtues of the Saint, had gone to pray for reHef, when
we are gravely told the iron ring burst asunder.^

On the same day our author tells us that a most
furious bull was offered as an oblation in the church.
He adds that the clerks who dwelt in the latter — by
whom he doubtless means scholars (who, he says, in
the Pictish language were called " Scollofthes ") —
began to bait the bull in the churchyard [in cymeterio
Beati Cuthberhti), The church, he says, was made
of stone {petrosa et de lapidibus compacta ecclesiola)}
The bull broke loose and killed the youth {predictum
scholasticum) who had incited the rest to torment it.^

This story, with its reference to the Pictish
tongue still surviving in Dumfriesshire, shows that
that county also belonged to the country of the
Niduarii, and that the diocese of Whitherne com-
prised the whole district north of the Solway, doubt-
less also including part of Ayrshire. It will be re-
membered that till the fourteenth century Whitherne
continued to be under the archdiocese of York, and
was treated as a Northumbrian diocese by Bede.

St. Cuthberht had other ties with the south of
Scotland, where in fact he was born.

We may further remember as an additional
argument in favour of the Northumbrian domination,
both lay and ecclesiastical, in this district, the presence
of the splendid seventh-century cross at Rushworth.
in Dumfriesshire.*

^ Op, cit. chap. 85. 2 /^^ 8 jjj 4 See Appendix IV.

3 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

This will be a convenient place to intervene with
a notice of what we know of the earlier history of
the restoration of the see at Whitherne.

When the bishopric was renewed, Plummer
argues that its seat was planted in the monastery at
Whitherne, which was hallowed by the memory of
St. Ninian. He adds that in the lives of Irish saints
it was called Rosnat and Magnum Monasierium^
and was represented as a great centre of monastic
discipline and learning where several of them had
their training.-^

The date of the revival is not exactly known,
but it may be approximately fixed. Bede, writing
in 731, says that Pehthelm was then bishop in
the church called Candida Casa (i.e. the White
House), which from the increasing number of
believers had lately become an additional episcopal
see and had him for its first prelate.^ This agrees
with Richard of Hexham, who, in speaking of
Bishop Acca (724-735), says: ''Sunt tamen qui
dicunt quod eo tempore episcopalem eodem in
Candida Casa inceperit et praeparaverit.''^ It is
not only Cuthberht's connection with the land of
the Niduarii that attests his influence beyond
the Solway Firth, but also the names and associa-
tions of the later Bishops of Whitherne.

The name of Pecthelm or Pehthelm, as Mr.
Plummer says, means, "helm of the PIcts." Can it
have been given him when he became Bishop ? He

^ Plummer's Bede^ ii. 129. ^ ^.^-.^ y. 23.

' Church of Hexham^ Surtees Society, p. 35.

THE LATER SEE OF WHITHERNE 39

was perhaps a native of South Britain, however, or
at least he was educated in the south, for he had
been a deacon and monk for a long time under St.
Aldhelm, and had reported how many miracles were
performed at the grave of the Wessex bishop
Haedde/ He was one of St. Boniface's many cor-
respondents. Bede tells us that one of the stories
he himself relates about the vision of a Mercian
knight was told to him by ''the venerable Bishop
Pecthelm."^

Boniface in a letter asks him for his prayers in
behalf of his own very onerous mission, and sends
him some small presents as a proof of his affec-
tion for him {'' parva munuscula, id est, corporate ,
pallium, albis stigmatibus variatum et villosam ad
tergendos pedes servoru7n Dei''). He also asks him
for his opinion on a technical dogmatic point.
Throughout ''Francia," he says, and the Gauls
{''per totam Franciam et per Gallias'') the bishops
held it to be a very great crime for a man to marry
a widow to whose son by a former husband he
had been godfather in Baptism. This, he says, he
cannot find forbidden in the Canons, nor does he
know in what category of sins it can be placed.
He ends the letter with the pleasing phrase,
** Sospitatem vestram Sanctis virtutibus proficere, et
longo tempore valere te cupio in Christ 0.'' ^ The letter
is dated in 735 by Diimmler. That is the year in
which Florence of Worcester puts Pehthelm's death.

1 Bede, H.E., v. 18. ^ Jd. v. 13.

* Mon. Germ. Hist., Epist. iii. 282-3.

40 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

He was succeeded by Frithuwald in 735 (see Cont.
of Bede, ed. Plummer, i. 361/ and the Anglo-
Saxon Chronicle, MSS. D, E, and F,^ which say he
was consecrated at York on the 15th of August, in
the sixth year of King Ceolwulf, and died on the 7th
of May 763, having been bishop twenty-nine years).^
H'e, again, was succeeded by Pehtwine, meaning
'* Friend of the Picts," who was consecrated Bishop
of Whitherne on the 17th of July ']62i at iElfet ee.
He died on the 19th of September 776, after being
bishop fourteen years/ I know nothing more of him.

Let us now return to Cuthberht. We followed
his story to the time when he was spending part of
his latter days at Carlisle.

It was while he was there that he said good-bye
to his old friend Hereberht, or Herbert, who used
to pay him a yearly visit, and whose name still
attaches to St. Herbert's Island on Derwentwater,^
There he passed his life as a hermit, and there still
remains a ruined chapel associated with his name.

^ M.H.B., 288. 2 /^^ ^42.

' His name suggests some connection with Frithogith, the Queen
of Wessex, and Frithuberht, Bishop of Hexham, who were con-
temporaries of his.

■* Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, MSS. D, E, and F.

* There are four islands on Derwentwater. St. Herbert's Island is
almost in the centre of the lake, and is about 5 acres in size. The
cell is at the north end, which is almost covered with wood.
Hutchinson two centuries ago said it seemed to consist of two rooms,
the outer one probably the chapel, 22 feet by 16, the smaller one
being the cell. The latter is now lost ; the walls of the former still
remain, at a height of about 3 feet above ground, built of unwrought
slate-stones and mortar. Heaps of stones from the building lie
around, and are now covered with ivy, moss, and brambles, and
clasped by the roots of trees. The metrical life of St. Cuthberht says
Herbert retired to this spot by the advice of his friend Cuthberht
(Eyre, op. cit. 58 and 59).

ST. CUTHBP:RnT AND ST. HEREBERHT 41

He foretold his own approaching death to his
friend, and promised to pray that as they had served
God together here, so they might go to heaven
together to see His light. They were, in fact,
reported to have died on the same day, and seven
centuries later, in 1374, Thomas de Appleby, the
Bishop of Carlisle, appointed that a Mass should be
said by the Vicar of Crosthwaite parish, in which
Herbert lived, on the anniversary of the two saints
in the island where Hereberht had died, and he
granted an indulgence of forty days to all who
crossed the water to pray in honour of the two
friends.^

Wordsworth writes of them in some very prosaic

lines :

"... But he (Cuthberht) had left
A fellow-labourer, whom the good man loved
As his own soul ; and when, with eye upraised
To heaven, he knelt before the crucifix,
While o'er the lake the cataract of Lodore
Pealed to his orisons, and when he paced
Along the beach of this small isle, and thought
Of his companion, he would pray that both,
Now that their earthly duties were fulfilled,
Might die in the same moment. Nor in vain
So prayed he, as our chroniclers report,
Though here the hermit numbered his last day,
Far from St. Cuthberht, his beloved friend,
These holy men both died in the same hour."

Cuthberht had long been delicate, the result,
no doubt, of his austerities, and in the year 686 he
resigned his episcopal charge and returned to his

^ Bede^ Smith's edition. Appendix, No. 23, p. 783, where the text
of the indulgence is given.

42 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

lonely dwelling at Farne.^ We are told how the
Lindisfarne monks crowded about his boat when
he left them and asked him eagerly when he would
return. "When you shall convey my dead body
again here," said Cuthberht. His last days were
described by Herefrid, Abbot of Lindisfarne, to
Bede. He tells us that on the 27th of February,
the very day of Cuthberht's attack, he had visited
the island to receive the Saint's salutation, and
gave him the usual sign on his arrival. ** He
came to the window and answered my saluta-
tion with a groan." Herefrid then asked if he
was suffering from his old disease, dysentery, or
from some new complaint, and craved a bless-
ing from him "for myself and my monks," and
proposed to quit the island, as the tide was
favourable.

Cuthberht bade him return home, and when
God should take his soul to Himself he told him to
bury him in front of his oratory on the island under
the eastern side of the cross which he had there
erected. "You will find," he added, "on the
north side of my dwelling a stone coffin, hid in the
ground, the gift of the venerable Abbot Cudda.
I also wish my body to be wrapped in a linen cloth
which was given to me by Verca, the Abbess "
{i.e. the Abbess of Tiningham), " which I was
unwilling to wear in my lifetime, and have kept for

^ As Bede says, when he had had passed two years in his
episcopal office, knowing in spirit that his last day was at hand, he
divested himself of his episcopal duties and returned to his much-
loved solitude ( Vi/. Cuthb.^ ch. 36).

THE LAST DAYS OF ST. CUTHBERHT 43

my winding-sheet." Herefrid now returned to
Lindisfarne and retailed the story to a full convent
of the brethren, and told them to pray incessantly
for their dying bishop.

A storm which followed lasted five days, and
prevented access to the island. When it had
abated the monks put out to sea. On their
arrival they found their bishop not in his oratory,
but in the guest-hall at the landing-place on the
beach. Herefrid remained to nurse him, while the
rest went on to Bamborough on some necessary
business. He first washed one of the Saint's feet,
which had long troubled him. It was perhaps
some disorder consequent on the plague from which
he had suffered when a monk. He then gave him
some warm wine. After this Cuthberht sat down
quietly on his couch, with the abbot beside him. He
told his friend he had lately taken up his residence on
the beach so that he should be more easily accessible
to those who might visit him from Lindisfarne, and
said he had been there five days and nights without
moving. Archbishop Eyre suggests that he had
moved in order that the monks might not have an
excuse for entering his cell, to which he seems to
have had a great objection. When Herefrid asked
what he had done for food, he produced five onions
from under his coverlet, with which he had
moistened his parched lips, and said he had eaten
nothing else. Herefrid remarked that only half of
one had been eaten, and also persuaded his
master to allow some of the monks to come and

44 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

look after him, to which the latter now consented.
He selected two, one called Bede (not the historian)
and another Walhstod.

Herefrid on his return to Lindisfarne told the
brethren of the Saint's determination to be buried
at Fame, which troubled them much. They had a
special conference, and set out to entreat him to let
his remains be placed in the cathedral, but he urged
that it would be better he should remain at Fame,
for, since he was notoriously **a servant of Christ,"
culprits of all kinds would flock to his tomb {i.e. for
sanctuary), and give much trouble to the Church by
compelling it to intercede with the potentates of the
world. They replied that if he would grant their wish
they were prepared to undergo any trouble. They
were anxious to have his tomb in the cathedral, so
that they could visit it when they wished, and could
exclude strangers if they thought good. He there-
upon consented, and they received his message on
their knees.

Feeling that his life was ebbing, he asked the
brethren to convey him to the oratory. It was
nine in the morning. The door was open, but they
knew that for many years no one had entered it
but the Saint himself, and they now begged that one
of them might do so, and thus attend to his wants.
He selected Walhstod, who was then labouring
from a dysentery. According to Bede, no sooner did
Cuthberht lean onhis arm than his complaint left him.

Abbot Herefrid used to sit beside him to obtain
from him some parting message for the brethren

ST. CUTHBERHrS LAST HOURS 45

at Lindisfarne before he died. He reported that
he spoke but Httle, and insisted on their cherishing
peace, humility, unanimity in counsel, and hospitality,
and showed a special abhorrence of those who
departed from Catholic unity, who did not observe
Easter at the proper time, or who led wicked lives.
Mr. James Raine says he also gave the
memorable command with reference to his body,
to which Durham and its splendid endowments
exclusively owe their origin.

" Know and remember," said he to Herefrid,
** that if necessity shall ever compel you out of two
misfortunes to choose one, I had much rather that
you should dig up my bones from their grave and
take them with you in such sojourn as God shall
provide, than that you should on any account
consent to the iniquity of schismatics or put your
necks under their yoke." ^ This and other similar
phrases were probably Bede's own glosses.

That this injunction contemplated the subsequent
journeys of Cuthberht's remains after the destruc-
tion of Lindisfarne, as some have supposed, seems
to me preposterous. It probably rather had in
view some possible heterodoxy being introduced
at Lindisfarne.

The end was now»at hand, and we are told that
when nocturns had come round Cuthberht received
from Herefrid the communion of the Lord's body

^ The sentence, like others of a similar kind, points to Cuthberht's
having had no doubt about his own superior sanctity and of the
special preciousness of his own remains (Bede, Vit. Cuth., 28-32).

46 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

and blood to strengthen him for his departure, and
with eyes and hands lifted up heavenwards he
commended his soul to the Lord in a sitting position,
and passed away without a groan **into the life of
the fathers " in the first hours of Wednesday,
March 20, 687.^ He was probably only about fifty-
six, for he was just grown up when he came to
Melrose in 651.

'* It is certain," says Dr. Bright, ''that he received
the communion in both kinds, and clearly not
during Mass.

"... Rest dens antistes ad altar
Pocula degustat vitae^ Christique supinum
Sanguine munit iter."

*' So also Guthlac, munivit se communione cor-
poris et sanguinis Christi — both kinds being kept
ready on the altar." ^ In the case of hermits this
reservation must have involved some difficulties.

Herefrid now communicated the news of the
death to the other brethren who were on the
island, whereupon one of them went with a torch
in each hand to an eminence and thus conveyed

^ Bede, H.E.^ iv. 29, and Vit. Cuth.^ 39 ; Vit. Anon., 42.

2 Bright, op. cit. 387 and note 4 ; Bede, Vit., 39, and de Mirac.
S. Cuth., ch. 36. Dr. Lingard says that at the celebration of Mass
the communion was distributed under both kinds ; it was so also
with the viaticum when the Mass was celebrated in the presence of
the sick. When this was not convenient or possible, the rubric ordered
that " the Housel " consecrated at the Mass should be kept for the
purpose. "We enjoin," says- the Canon, "that the priest have housel
always ready for those who need it, and that he carefully preserve it
in purity." In monasteries it was generally preserved in the chapel
of the infirmary, whence, as Bede says, it was brought for each man
(Lingard, i. 46, note).

DEATH OF ST. CUTHBERHT 47

the sad news to the community at LIndlsfarne.
His signal was seen by one of them who was in
the watchtower there, and was by him communi-
cated to the rest of the brethren in the church,
who were praying.

As soon as the Saint was dead the brethren
washed his body from head to foot and wrapped it
in a cere-cloth, no doubt that supplied by the Abbess
Verca, and enveloped his head in a fair cloth or
napkin. They then clothed him in the vestments
of a priest (i.e. a cassock, amice, alb, girdle, stole,
maniple, and chasuble). The sacramental elements
were put upon his breast,^ and sandals were placed
upon his feet. He was then conveyed over the
water to Lindisfarne and buried with all due
honour in a stone coffin (doubtless that which had
been provided by Abbot Cudda, vide supra), and
on the right side of the altar.^

Unlike most anchorites, who naturally become
testy and self-willed, Cuthberht was a gentle
creature. He tolerated counsel from his brother
monks, who could not always accept the excessive
austerities he chose as his own portion, and who
begged for occasional (very occasional) relaxations
at the Church festivals. Thus we find them urging
upon him one day that while fasts, prayers, and
vigils occupied most of their lives, they might
at least rejoice on Christmas day — '' et illi inquiunt

^ This is the way both Lingard and J. Raine understand the words
in the Anonymous Life : " Oblatis supe?' sanctum pectus positis."
2 Bede, Vit. St. Cuth., ch. 40.

48 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

. . . hodie gaudeamus in Domino . . . cum epulan-
tibus nobis et diem laetum ducentibus.'' ^

He seems to have accepted the rebuke and to
have conceded Its reasonableness, while reminding
them again and again of the need for continual
watchfulness and prayer.

Bede, as usual, illustrates this phase of the
Saint's character by a story. He tells us how on
one occasion, several persons having gone to the
island to visit him, he spoke comforting words to
them, adding that it was now time for him to
return to his cell, and he bade them before return-
ing home to take some refreshment, and pointed
out a goose (probably a solan goose) which was
hanging on the wall — '' pendebat enim auca in
pariete^ This he bade them cook and eat in the
name of the Lord. He then prayed with them and
blessed them. The visitors, as they had brought
other food with them, did not care to take the
goose, for which act of disobedience they were
punished by the arrival of a storm, which lasted
seven days, during which they were shut up in the
island. They visited the Saint (who did not know
they had not followed his advice) more than once
to ask his help. He bade them be patient. On
the seventh day he, for the first time, saw that
the goose was still hanging up. He then duly
reproved them for their disobedience, and told
them forthwith to put it In a cauldron and cook
and eat it, when the sea would again become quiet,

* Bede, Vit. St. Cuth.^ ch. 27.

ST. CUTHBERHT AND THE SOLAN GOOSE 49

and they might return home. " It happened,"
says Bede, ''that directly the goose began to boil
in the cauldron the waters of the sea also ceased
their boiling, whereupon they returned home with
joy, and yet with shame, and were confirmed in
their opinion that their master specially cherished
his faithful servants, and punished those who
lightly esteemed him.'*

''I did not," says Bede, "learn the miracle
from any vague authority, but from the statement
of one who was present, namely, Cynemund, a
monk of venerable life and a priest, and belong-
inof to the brotherhood at Lindisfarne."^

It is quite necessary, if we are to judge of the
mental simplicity and the quite naive and really
childish attitude of the early mediaeval saints
towards the problems of this life and the next,
that we should steep ourselves in these trivialities.
They measure the utter collapse of the human
mind at this time in view of all issues save the
pragmatic cares of life. We must always remember
that this habit of mind, when accompanied by the
effects of excessive self-torture, was much more
impressive to the men of social position no less
than to the simple crowd than the masculine
virtues of the great ecclesiastics of the mediaeval
Church.^ The effect of such austerities and of the

1 Bede, Vit. St. Cuth., ch. 36.

2 The extent of the asceticism practised by the more extravagant
of these lonely saints is almost incredible. " A still further advance in
rigour," says Plummer (i. xxxi), " was marked by the inclusus who was
walled up alive in his cell. One saint at St. Gallen, styled Eusebius

VOL. III. — 4

5 o GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

morbid lives and the hysterical visions of these
lonely recluses, which were nothing more than
the counterparts of others in such widely separated
religions as Muhammadanism, Buddhism, and
Hinduism, may be gathered from the almost
divine worship which was conceded to the
anchorites, as well as from the quite extrava-
gant gifts and legacies which they secured for
the Church.

This cult in later times and at certain shrines
had displaced the invocation of the Saviour as the
great Mediator, as may be gathered from the
following prayer addressed to St. Cuthberht and
preserved at Durham : —

" Oratio ad Sanctufn Cuthbertu7n.

"Sancte Pater Patriae, Cuthberte vir inclyte salve.
Salve, dans miseris saepe salutis opem.
Salve dulce decus, salve spes magna tuorum.
Virtus nostra vale ! Vir pietatis age !
Sit tibi laus. Tibi dignus honor, tibi gratia detur,
Qui, licet indigno, das bona saepe mihi.
Tu mihi magna salus, mihi gloria saepe fuisti,
Tu me dulcifluo semper amore foves.
Oh quot saepe malis, quibus hostibus atque periclis
Me, Pater, ereptum prosperitate foves
Et tibi quid dignum reddam. Pater, O Pie Presul !
O Pater ! O clemens Pastor ! adesto mihi
Ut placet et nosti, Pater, auxiliare petenti,
Quaeso memento mei, dulcis Amice Dei." ^

Scotigena {i.e. the Irishman), is reported to have lived for thirty years
when thus walled up "(see Pertz, ii. 93, 188). Of another, an Irish-
man called Paternus, it was said by Marianus Scotus, '"''in sua clausola
comhustus per igncm pe7't7-ansivit^ in refrigeritan" (Pertz, v. 558).
^ Raine, Cuthberht^ 96.

EXCESSIVE DEVOTION PAID TO ANCHORITES 5 i

It was not only In such prayers that the Saviour
in later times was forgotten at Cuthberht's shrine.
Thus In one form of indulgence issued by the Bishop
of Ely on 9th July 1235, to those who collected
money for the fabric of the nine altars at Durham,
repairs of the church there, etc., we find the following
typical sentence : ** We for our part, fully confiding
in the mercy of God and in the merits of the
glorious Virgin, of St. Cuthberht, and of all the
saints, release thirty days of enjoined penance to
all those who shall bestow towards the fabric afore-
said the pious bounty of their alms, or shall, during
the seven years next continuing, visit the place
aforesaid for the purpose of prayer." ^ The Saviour
is not mentioned in the document at all.

One reason for the extravagant reputation of
St. Cuthberht was doubtless the story of the alleged
incorruptibility of his flesh after death, which lent
itself to a quaint Latin alliteration in the words,
" Cujiis caro came car ens,'' and which, no doubt,
greatly awed the devotees in days when the most
childish credulity prevailed.

Eleven years after Cuthberht's burial, the
monks at LIndisfarne, deeming that nothing would
then remain of him save his bones, proposed to
take them up and to put them into a fitting coffin
above ground, where they could be duly honoured.
This wish was conceded by the bishop, and, ac-
cording to Hegge's quaint words in his legend of
St. Cuthberht : *' Whiles they opened his coffin

^ Raine, Cuthberht, 100.

5 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

they started at a wonder. They lookt for bones
and found flesh ; they expected a skeleton and saw
an entire bodie with joynts flexible. His flesh so
succulent that there only needed heat to make his
bodie live without a soul, and his face so dissem-
bling death that, while elsewhere it is true that sleep
is the image of death, here death was the image
of sleep. Nay, his very funerall weeds were as
fresh as if putrefaction had not dared to take him
by the coat."^ The dismayed monks reported
what they had seen to Eadberht, the Bishop of
Lindisfarne, who was spending Lent in an adjacent
island. They took with them the outer robes in
which Cuthberht had been burled, and which they
found in the same state of incorruption as the body
itself. They did not disturb the other vestments,
but wrapped the remains in a new garment, and
then placed it above ground in a coffin which they
had prepared. The bishop just referred to, who
died soon after, was buried in the grave from which
the body of St. Cuthberht had been taken.

The statement about the remains of the Saint
having been found uncorrupted is repeated on later
occasions when the coffin was again opened. It
was a common story told of saints. Its truth in this
case is sharply criticised by Mr. James Raine, who
makes an unanswerable case against the authority
of the legend. He quotes some very damaging
facts on the other side. It is, at all events, clear
that the later monks always took care to have

* Hegge's legend of St. Cuthberht, see Raine, Cuthberht^ 67, note.

UNCORRUPTED CONDITION OF SAINTS BODY 5 3

the face, which was the exposed part of the body,
carefully covered with a face-cloth. Of this,
Reginald, who described the opening of the coffin
in 1 104, says, very frankly : '' The cheeks, face, and
head were closely covered with a cloth, which was
attached to all the parts beneath it with such
anxious care that it was as it were glued to his
hair, skin, temples, and beard. Through this his
nostrils and eyelids were sufficiently visible, but
not the skin below." This is confirmed by William
of Malmesbury, who says, ''Fades tarn stride ob-
vohUa sicdario ttt nullo Abbatis nisu dissotiari
possety^

This is surely very suspicious, and becomes
conclusive when we confront it with another fact
mentioned by Raine. He gives an engraving of
the Saint's skull when the remains were exposed
at the opening of the coffin in 1826, and says
that pieces of the very cloth which Reginald
had described as glued to the face were still
found fastened to it with no trace of flesh inter-
vening. Not only so, but he says the eye-holes
of the skull, in order to give the face-cloth the
projecting appearance of eyes in their respective
places, had been originally, and still continued,
stuffed full with a whitish composition, which still
admirably retained its colour and consistency, and
which upon being removed from its place was
easily pressed into a powder by the finger and
thumb.^

^ G.P.^ ed. Hamilton, p. 275. ^ Raine, 214.

54 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

All this goes to show that the story was
based on quite sophisticated evidence. WilHam of
Malmesbury names five saints, of all of whom it
was said that their bodies remained uncorrupted,
namely, ^thelburga, Wiburga, Edmund of East
Anglia, Alphege, and Cuthberht.

Cuthberht's case was, however, the critical
one, and we find St. Dunstan at a later time
enforcing the truth of incorruption in the case of
St. Edmund by quoting it to the Abbot of Fleury.
Thus he says : '' Quia sanctus . . . Cuthbertus . . .
non solum adhuc exspectat diem primae resurrectionis
incorrupto corpore, sed etiam perfusus quodam blando
tepore''^ Reginald says that the body when ex-
posed showed the Saint to have been of a tall and
manly stature.

The cult of Cuthberht was very widespread,
especially within the radius of the influence of the
great northern minster on the Tees. Miss Arnold-
Forster, in her interesting and learned book on the
dedications of English churches, remarking on the
Saint's wide popularity, says that about ninety
churches still bear his name. These she enumer-
ates.^ Seventy of them are ancient and the rest
belong to the last century. Of these, she thinks
Crayke and Carlisle are probably the oldest.
Several of those mentioned in Bishop Wessington's
old list have had their dedications altered, notably
that of Middleton, near Manchester — '' the most

^ Stubbs, Du7istan^ p. 379 ; Plummer, ii. 271.
2 Op. cit, iii. p. 350.

WIDESPREAD CULT OF ST. CUTHBERHT 55

southern point in the Saint's wanderings, which is
now known as St. Leonard's, the French hermit
having dispossessed the EngHsh one."^ Among
the daughter churches of Durham which were
dedicated to the Saint, that of Darhngton, built in
the twelfth century, is remarkable. Outside of the
Durham diocese he also shared in the dedication
of the two great abbey churches of Bolton and
Worksop.

While for several centuries his name became
almost obsolete as a dedicating one — the church
of Milbourne, in Westmorland, in 1355, being the
last in the known list of such foundations — it has
revived during the last half-century. One such
exists in Durham. Of these modern dedications,
twenty are named by Miss Arnold-Forster.

It is noticeable, however, that the Saint's fame
was largely confined to the north of England, and
especially that part of it where the influence of
Durham extended. Shropshire is the only county
in the southern province with two dedications to
him, while there is one in each of the sporadically
distributed counties of Somerset, Suffolk, Derby-
shire, Dorsetshire, and Hereford.^

Another excellent proof of the influence of the
Saint was the enormous estate which eventually
accumulated in the hands of the priory he founded.

In the Anonymous Life of St. Cuthberht, and
according to Symeon of Durham, King Ecgfrid and
Archbishop Theodore made over to him at his

^ Miss Arnold-Forster, ii. p. 87. ^ Qp^ ^it. ii, 89-91.

5 6 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

consecration as bishop, the whole of the land
in the city of York which extended from the Wall
to the Church of St. Peter, as far as the great gate
towards the west, and from the wall of that church
as far as the City wall upon the south. They also
gave him the vill of Creca (now Crayke, near
Easingwold), with a circuit of three miles round it,
** that he might have a dwelling in which to rest
on his way to York or on his return thence,"
and where he planted some monks. As the land
there, however, was inadequate, he received an
addition at Lugubalia (otherwise called Luel), i.e.
Carlisle, which embraced a circuit of fifteen miles,
where he planted a convent of nuns, and where, as
we have seen, he consecrated the Queen as a nun.
There he also founded schools for the improvement
of Divine service.^

It was on the estate just quoted, namely, in the
Royal vill at Exanford (probably some place on
the river Exe in Cumberland), that, after Cuthberht
performed the miracle of raising a dead boy, King
Ecgfrid also gave him the land called Cartmel,
and all the Britons with it, and also the vill
of Suthgedluit (Mr. Arnold suggests that this is
one of the Yealands on Morecambe Bay), and
what pertained to it. Symeon adds the rather
cryptic sentence: '' Haec omnia sibi a smicto
Cuthberto commissa bonus abbas Cineferth filius
Cygincg sapienter ordinavit sicut voluit.'' ^ Symeon

^ Vit. Anon. St. Cuth.y 13; Symeon, Hist. Ecc. Dun.., i. chap. ix.
2 Sym. Dun., Hist. St. Cuth. (ed. T. Arnold), ch. vi. p. 200.

GIFl^S OF LAND MADE TO CUTHBERHT 57

further says that Ecgfrid, who was absent on his
war with Wulfhere of Mercia, having been greatly
helped by the prayers of St. Cuthberht, gave him
Carrum {i.e. Carham) and all that belonged to it
as a reward.

When the Danes attacked and destroyed Lindis-
farne in the year 875, the bishop and monks there
removed the body of their saint from its shrine,
and having placed the head of St. Oswald, a
few bones of St. Aidan, some bones of Bishops
Eata, Eadfrid, ^thelwold the anchorite, and,
according to Leland, those of Abbot Ceolwulf,
in his coffin, set out ''they knew not whither."
Their long wanderings lasted for seven years until
the Danes had been overcome by King Alfred.
Reginald says that at the time they escaped it was
high water at Lindisfarne, but the waves drew
back and gave them a passage on dry ground ! ! !
They probably first fled to the Northumbrian
hills. Symeon says they removed from place to
place in Northumbria, like sheep fleeing from
wolves. During their wanderings four only (some
of the accounts say seven) of the monks were
allowed to touch the coffin of the Saint. At first
it would appear that the coffin was carried on their
shoulders, but presently in a vision he is said, ac-
cording to Reginald, to have suggested an easier
way of portage, and miraculously supplied a horse
and carriage on wheels ; Symeon calls it a carrum,
and also a caballus vehiculus. The four privileged
persons allowed to touch the bier and its contents

5 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

were called Hunred, Stitheard, Edmund, and
Franco, and Symeon says there were many of their
descendants in Northumbria, both lay and clerical,
living in his day, who were proud of a tie with a
man who had been so honoured.-^

Three years later, namely, in SyS, St. Cuthberht
in the form of a beggar is said by Symeon to have
solicited charity from King Alfred at Athelney,
who gave him a little of the food he was eating,
whereupon the Saint promised and secured him a
victory in the battle he was about to fight at
Assandune.^

To return to the Saint and his wanderings.
Prior Wessington of Durham reports how his
remains ceased not to perform miracles at the
various places where they halted. Thus it came
about that in the western parts (in partibiis occi-
dentalibus) wherever the remains rested, many
churches and chapels were afterwards built in his
honour. Wessington compiled and placed over the
choir door of the Church of Durham in 1416a list of
such of them as he knew of, which is still preserved,
and which is given by Raine as follows : —

Lancastrieschire. — Furnes, Kirkby Ireleth,^
Haxheved,* Aldynham,^ Lethom in Amun-
drenesse,^ Meler,^ Halsall,^ Birnsale in

^ Hist. Dun. EccL, 11. xii. ^ Ib.x.

3 i.e. " West Kirkby."

* Now known as Hawkshead, between Windermere and Coniston.

* Aldingham, east of Furness. *"' Now called Lytham.
^ Mellor, three miles north-west of Rlackburn.

* Ten miles from Ormskirk.

WANDERINGS OF ST. CUTHBERHT'S BODY 59

Craven,^ Emmyldon in Coupeland,^ Lorton,
Kelett In Lonsdall and Middleton near Man-
chester.

Cleyvfla7id (i.e. Cleveland). — Lethom, Kildale,
Merton, Wilton, Ormisby.

Rychmondeschir, Southcouton, Forsete, Over-
ton near York, Barton (and, on the authority
of Roger Gale, Marske, which the prior had
overlooked).

Yorke. — Pesholme, Fysshlake, Acworth.

Duremschir. — Eccles, Cath. Dunelm, Cestre,
Redmersell, Capella in Castr. Dunelm.

Westmerlande. — Cleburn (now Cliburne)
(Sanderson adds Dufton).

Commerlande. — Church in Carlisle, Edynhall,
Salkeld, Plumbland (Sanderson adds
Bewcastle).

Northumberlande. — Norham, Bedlyngton,
Carram {i.e. Carham, near Coldstream),
Ellysden in Ryddesdale, Haydon brigg,
Beltyngeham.^

Accepting Wessington's statement that a church
dedicated to Cuthberht in early times meant that
the Saint and his company had rested there, and,
further, that the cortege started from Lindisfarne
and finished its journey at Craike ; Raine, using

* This is situated in Yorkshire.

2 Embleton in Cumberland ; Lorton, the next entry, is in the same
county.

^ Raine's Cuthberht^ 44, note. In addition to the churches it is
very probable that crosses were also set up at other resting-places
of the Saint, which were of less importance.

6o GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

the above list, tries to trace their journey. He
says : " Elsdon^ was the first place towards which
the fugitives directed their steps. They then
travelled down the Reed, from which they turned
upwards to Haydon Bridge.^ Afterwards they
ascended the South Tyne to Beltingham, thence
they followed the line of the Roman Wall to
Bewcastle, and then went in a southern direction
to Salkeld, three miles south-west of Kirkoswald,
thence to Edenhall, and thence to Plumbland,
four miles south south-east of Cockermouth, so-
called, according to Reginald, from the dense woods
round it, and afterwards into Lancashire to the
places above mentioned. Next they came towards
the Derwent, whence they determined, at the
instance of Eardulf, Bishop of Lindisfarne, and
Eadred, Abbot of Carlisle, to pass over into Ireland,
as the only place of safety. They hired a ship,
which was to meet them at the mouth of the
Derwent, in Cumberland, and the body of the
Saint was put on board. Those who supported
the Bishop and the Abbot in this course had not
told the majority of the company, who were
taken by surprise when they found themselves left
behind on the beach. ' Farewell, turn the prow
to Ireland,' said the former. The majority who
were left behind now appealed to St. Cuthberht
not to allow himself to be thus carried off
as a prisoner, while they were left like sheep

* In Redesdale, once covered with forest and morasses.
^ Six miles from Hexham.

WANDERINGS OF ST. CUTHBERHrS BODY 6i

to the teeth of wolves. Thereupon a storm
arose and the ship had to return, and In the
confusion the book of St. Cuthberht's Gospels,
now known as the Lindisfarne Gospels, fell into
the sea and disappeared. According to Symeon,
Cuthberht thereupon appeared in a vision and told
one of them, named Hunred, where they would find
it. They accordingly proceeded along the coast
as far as Whitherne, in Galloway. There they
found it on the sands almost three miles from hio^h-
water mark during the ebb of a spring tide."^ In
the list of the relics at Durham we have the entry :
** Item. The book of St. Cuthberht with the copy
of the Evangelists."^ While in this wild country
the travellers suffered much from want of proper
food, and for some days lived on a horse's head
which they had salted and some stale cheese. The
former they had bought for five silver " sicli "
{(juinque solidorum sic lis argenli).^

Returning to Raine's account of the itinerary
of the Saint and his conductors. After recover-
ing the book they proceeded to Westmorland,
where they lingered a while, first at Cliburne
and next at Dufton.* They then crossed over
Stainmore into Teesdale, where, as the name
of the hamlet shows, they stayed a while at
Cutherston.^ Thence crossing the hills to Marske ^
they went to Forcett and Barton, and then south-

^ Sym., Hist. Ecc. Dun.^ ii. 12. ^ Raine, Cuthberht^ 126.

^ Reg. of Durham, ch. xv.

* Under the shelter of Dufton fells. ^ i.e. Cuthberht's stone.

^ In Swaledale.

6 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

wards to Craike, to a property given to Cuthberht
on his consecration, lingering on the way at
Cowton, and afterwards at the various places in
Cleveland above mentioned. Raine says he had
omitted the legend of Cuthberht's voyage in a stone
boat-shaped coffin down the Tweed from Melrose
to Tilmouth, the remains of which were reported to
have been preserved at the latter place. Remains
of a stone coffin are indeed there, but the story
itself was an invention of the eighteenth century,
and it was not the only one of the kind made by
Lambe, an editor of a poem on Flodden Field.^

The cavalcade reached Craike in the autumn
of 882.^ There Abbot Eadred seems to have
ingratiated himself with the Danish chief Guthred,
under whose auspices the brethren moved to
Cuncacestre (now Chester-le-Street), where Bishop
Eardulf had fixed his episcopal see. There, accord-
ing to Symeon, he built them a wooden cathedral,
which the Danish ruler handsomely endowed.^
It remained there for a hundred and thirteen
years, and presently the King, at the bidding of
St. Cuthberht, gave them all the land between the
Tyne and the Wear as a perpetual possession for
the Saint, with the right of inviolable sanctuary,
so that any one who reached it was safe for thirty-
seven days.*

The next important event in the fortunes of

1 Raine, 43-47-

2 There, according to Symeon of Durham, they were sheltered by
Abbot Geve, and stayed four monihs {//I'sl. Dun. Ecc, ii. ch. 13).

2 I/k 28. * Sym. Dun., id. 13.

VISIT OF ATHELSTANE TO THE SHRINE 63

the Saint's remains was the visit of King Athel-
stane to his shrine at Chester-le-Street on his
way to Scotland to punish King Constantine for
the breach of his treaty with him. The lordly
gifts presented by the King on this visit are duly
enumerated/ and are worth recording here. They
consisted of a copy of the Gospels, which contained
a statement that it had been presented to St.
Cuthberht by Athelstane ; ^ ''two chasubles, one
alb, one stole with a maniple, one girdle [cingulum)^
three altar-cloths, one chalice of silver, two patens,
one made of gold and the other of Greek work
[Graeco opere), one censer of silver, one cross
ingeniously made of gold and ivory, one royal cap
{Regius pileus) woven of gold, two tablets of gold
and silver (probably they were two paxes), one
missal, two copies of the Gospels ornamented with
gold and silver, a Life of St. Cuthberht written
in verse and prose (doubtless Bede's two lives),
seven palls, three curtains [corlinas) (these were
probably to be hung on iron rods on each side of
the altar), three pieces of tapestry {tapecia) (doubt-
less to cover the bare w^alls of the chancel), two
cups (coppas) of silver with covers, three large bells,
two horns fabricated of gold and silver, two banners,
one lance, and two bracelets of gold."^

Athelstane's son Eadmund also visited the
shrine on his campaign in Scotland to ask the

1 See Cott. MS., Brit. Mus., Claudius D, iv.

^ It was in the Cotton Library, Otho B, 9, and was, unfortunately,
burnt in the Cotton fire in 1731.
^ See Raine, op. cit. 51 and 52.

64 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Saint's aid. He offered his prayers there, and
placed two bracelets which he took from his own
arms on his body, together with two palls of
Greek workmanship (duo pallia Graeca)}

The next notable visitor who is recorded among
those who went to the Saint's shrine was a monk
from Winchester whose narrative is extant. He
tells us he brought with him to Durham some vest-
ments, and put them with his own hands on Cuth-
berht's body.^ These vestments no doubt included
the famous stole and maniple still preserved in the
library at Durham, which had been embroidered for
Bishop Fritheston of Winchester by Queen ^Ethel-
dreda, who had died in 933, as is recorded in a
stitched inscription on the vestments themselves.

Presently, and in 995, the body of St. Cuthberht,
with its treasures, was again removed, in consequence
of a praemonition received by Bishop Aldune of a
fresh threatened attack from the Danes, and was
taken to Ripon for two or three months. Symeon
says the removal of the whole community, young
and old, with its property took place without any
mishap.^ It was then determined to build a fresh
church at Durham, on a site which, according to
Symeon, had been pointed out by Cuthberht himself.
The first church there (a wooden one) was replaced
by Bishop Aldune by a stone one in 999, in which
the Saint's body was reverently deposited.

The famous Bishop Alfwold of Sherborne,

* MS. Cotton, Claudius D, iv. fol. 221 ; Raine, 53 and note.

• Thorpe, Diploni,, 321. » H.D.E., iii.

ST. CUTHBERirrS SHRINE 65

1045-1058, also visited the shrine of St. Cuthberht.
WilHam of Malmesbury says of him that he was
devoted to the memory of the Saint and continu-
ally repeated an antiphon about him, the words of
which he gives.^ We are told he had the audacity
to raise the lid of the coffin and to talk with the
dead man as with a friend. He also put a pledge
of his love on his head {xeniolum in perpetui pignus
amoris deposuil).'^

The church became the nucleus and mother of
the splendid cathedral we all still so much venerate,
of which St. Cuthberht's shrine was the greatest
treasure, and which was begun by Bishop Carilef.
While the new cathedral was building, St. Cuth-
berht's remains were removed to a fine stone
tomb in the cloister garth, raised a yard above the
ground, and was covered with a large and beautiful
broad marble slab. They were translated thence
in 1 104 to the stone feretory or bier on which the
metal shrine stood, which had been prepared for it
in Carilef's cathedral, and was placed behind the
screen and in the apse of the nave. Reginald says
the feretory was supported by nine pillars.

I will now revert to an interesting story en-
shrined in one of Reginald of Durham's miraculous
tales. ** In times of old," he says, ** there flourished
one Alfred Westoue (who was the grandfather of
Ailred of Riveaulx, to whom Reginald dedicated his
book), who for the love he bore to St. Cuthberht
was granted peculiar privileges, for as often as
1 G.P., ii. 82. 2 ji,^

VOL. HI. — 5

66 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

he pleased he might freely open the coffin of the
Saint and might wrap him in new robes as he
thought fit, and he could obtain from him what-
ever he wished without delay ; and from long
familiarity we are told he attained to such a degree
of cordiality with him that it was his custom to
cut the overgrowing hair of his venerable head,
to adjust it by dividing and smoothing It with an
ivory comb, and to cut the nails of his fingers,
tastefully reducing them to roundness." The
purpose of this might well be to secure some relics
to dispose of, to such devotees as would pay
handsomely for them. " He was in the habit of
showing some of his friends portions of the cuttings
of the hair, and by way of experiment, after he had
filled a censer with burning coals, he would, by aid
of silver tongs {cumforcipe), which he had fashioned
for the express purpose, expose a single hair to
the flames in the sight of all. But the hair," adds
the ingenuous narrative, " would immediately, after
the fashion of gold, glisten in the midst of the fire
and undergo neither injury nor diminution ; and
after an hour, when removed by the tongs, would
assume its former colour. Whence," says Reginald,
*'it is believed those forceps, along with the large
ivory comb, perforated in its centre, are found in
the coffin of the blessed Bishop, still retaining their
original beauty and freshness, and with the
reverence of honour are placed upon a tablet by
the side of his body."

All this interesting story is introduced by

I

A STORY OF ALFRED WESTOUE 67

Reginald to illustrate a quaint miracle which he has
to tell. In this he says, that by the carelessness of
the custodian Alfred, a hole in Cuthberht's coffin
had been left open, whereupon a weasel, which the
famous teller of stories diagnoses in a primitive
way as fera quaedain subterranea quae non esse
dinoscititr bestia pecudis sed reptile quoddam ter-
renum aniviae viventis . . , de murium genere, and
which was about to produce young, made its nest
in a corner in a quiet place of the coffin in which to
do so. She used to enter the hole which was near
the Saint's feet without disturbing his remains or
garments when going to and fro to procure food for
its little ones. The Saint was very angry with the
custodian for this neglect, and bade him expel the
intruder. This was speedily accomplished.^

The silver forceps or tongs and the comb above-
mentioned as having afterwards been found in his
coffin, had nothing to do with Cuthberht's day
therefore, but dated from post-Conquest times.
The forceps disappeared at the Reformation, but
the comb still remains in the Library at Durham.

We will now return to the later translation of the
Saint's body, of which we have two minute accounts,
one from an anomymous writer, and the other from
Reginald of Durham.

The former tells us that the brethren opened
the outermost receptacle one day as soon as it was
dark, and prostrated themselves before the venerable
chest amid tears and prayers, and then, aided by

* Reginald of Durham, op. cit. ch. 26 ; Raine, op, cit. 58 and 59.

62, GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

instruments of iron, they forced it open, when inside
they found another chest covered on all sides with
hides carefully fixed to it by iron nails and bands.
At the command of the prior they broke open the
iron bands and inside found a coffin of wood (which
had been covered all over with a coarse cloth of
a threefold texture) of the length of a man, and
covered with a lid of the same description. The
brethren were convinced that this was the actual
coffin in which the Saint lay, and made up their
minds not to disturb his remains any more, but
were persuaded by one of their companions named
Leofwin (''meaning in Anglian a dear friend," says
our reporter), that it was their duty to open this
second coffin also. They accordingly moved the
venerable body from behind the altar into the
middle of the choir, where there was more ample
space for their investigation. They first took off
the linen cloth which enveloped the coffin, and then
tried to peer into the interior through a chink with
a candle, but without success. They accordingly
lifted the lid, and then found a third cover resting
on transverse bars, and occupying the whole length
and breadth of the coffin, so as to conceal its con-
tents entirely. On its upper part, near the head,
lay a book of the Gospels. They raised this lid by
means of two iron rings fixed in it to lift it by, one
at the head and the other at the feet. Reginald ^
describes this innermost coffin {theca) as a quad-
rangular chest with a flat cover, like the lid of a box.

* Op. cit, ch. 43.

o

'-J

c/:

•5

ST. CUTHBERHrS COFFIN 69

It was made entirely of black oak. He doubts, he
says, whether "it had acquired this colour by age,
from some device, or from nature." The whole
of it, he adds, was externally carved with admirable
enaravino- of minute and delicate work. The
design was divided into small compartments,
occupied by divers beasts, flowers, and images,
which seemed to be inserted, engraved, or furrowed
out in the wood. This excellent description is
fully borne out by the remains of the coffin still
extant. These designs, which are made with
incised lines, seem, says Mr. Raine, to have been
cut on the surface of the wood by a sharp pointed
knife or chisel, and partly by some instrument such
as the '"scrieve" of the woodman; this is con-
firmed by the fact that a slight single line made with
the point of a knife, but now scarcely discernible,
runs between each engraving.^

Reginald also speaks of the coffins themselves
as having an outer cover decorated with gold and
precious stones, and fastened irremovably to them
by long iron nails.

Let us now turn from the coffins to their
contents, which are particularly interesting as
specimens of the artistic work and the burial rites
at a time when we have very few evidences remain-
ing. The anonymous writer says, that having
raised the lid at the bidding of the prior, the
brethren smelt an odour of the sweetest fragrancy.
They found the body of the Saint lying on its

1 Op. cit. 189.

70 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

side in a perfect state, and from the flexibility of
its joints representing a person asleep rather than
one dead. It contained, besides, the head of ''the
glorious king and martyr Oswald," and the bones
of the confessor and priest Aidan and Bishops
Eadberht, Eadfrid, and Ethelwold, those of the
Venerable Bede (which were contained in a small
linen sack), and, according to William of
Malmesbury, ''the bones of King Ceolwulf, monk
and saint." ^ These relics were not in the coffin
originally, but had been placed there in later times,
and after the Danish invasion, being such as had
afterwards been rescued by Alfred above named.

The anonymous writer says that the two monks
who had been deputed to remove the venerable
body from the coffin stood at the head and feet,
and holding it by those parts it began to bend in
the middle like a living man, and to sink forwards
from its natural weight of solid flesh and bones. A
third then ran up by special command and
supported its middle in his arms. They then
placed it reverently upon tapestry and other robes.
Having removed the other relics from the coffin,
they again replaced the Saint's body in it. It was
midnight, and they sang a Te Deum and psalms of
exultation, and in the morning reported all they
had seen and done to the Bishop, who was
credulous about some of the details. The following

^ Raine, op cit. 79. In a Durham MS. mentioned by Raine it is
said there were also bones of the hermits Baiter and Billfred and of
Ebbe and Elfirge, and bones and hair of St. Ethelwold the priest who
succeeded Cuthberht as hermit at Fame.

CONDITION OF THE SAINTS BODY 71

night they therefore again took out the coffin, and
again put the body on some robes and tapestry on the
pavement and proceeded to unwrap the outer cover-
ing, which was a vesture of a costly kind. Next
below this was a purple dalmatic, and then a linen
robe, doubtless a chasuble. All these swathements
retained their original freshness. The chasuble
which the Saint had worn for eleven years in his
grave was removed by the brethren on this occasion,
and was afterwards preserved in the church. Having
examined the body carefully, and "ascertained that
it was a body in a state of incorruption," they, in
addition to the robes it already wore, clothed it with
the most costly pall they could find in the church,
and over this they placed a covering of the purest
linen. They then replaced it in the coffin. The
other things which they had found with it they also
replaced, namely, an ivory comb and a pair of
forceps, still retaining their freshness, and, as became
a priest, a silver altar, a linen cloth for covering
the sacramental elements and a paten. There was
also a chalice — small in size, but precious from
its materials and workmanship. Its lower part
represented a lion of the purest gold, which bore
on its back an onyx stone made hollow by the most
beautiful workmanship. It was attached to the
lion so that it could easily be turned round by the
hand, although it could not be separated from it.
The only relic found in the coffin, which was
replaced there, was the head of St. Oswald.^

^ Raine, op. cit. 81.

7 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Let us now turn to Reginald, who gives some
further details. He says that the pillow on which
the body lay was made of costly silk, and had
been previously placed under the body. So far as it
was covered by it, it shone with all the brightness
of a recent texture. But that part of it which had
been occupied by the relics of the other saints was
devoured by moths and reduced to dust and ashes.
These latter relics were placed in certain wooden
receptacles, and were preserved elsewhere in the
church in a larger repository specially made for
them. Instead of replacing the Saint on the floor
of the coffin, they made a platform on four feet,
which they placed inside it, and on it put the body,
so that it lay not more than half down the coffin.
In regard to the vestures in which he lay, Reginald
says his body was everywhere immediately en-
veloped with a very thinly woven sheet of linen,
being the winding-sheet which the Abbess Verca
gave him. Next to this was his priestly alb,
with an amice on his neck and shoulders. His
cheeks and face were covered with a cloth.
Above all these was a purple face cloth, which
concealed the mitre. He adds that no similar
kind of cloth as this last was made in his time.
Upon his forehead was a fillet of gold, not of
woven work, " but it was externally covered with
gold," and sparkling with precious stones all over.
Above the alb was a stole, the extremities of which
were visible near his feet, and a fanon, described
by Archbishop Eyre as a silk cloth, hung behind

ST. CUTHBERHTS BURIAL VESTMENTS 73

the shoulders and tied round the neck, to which
was attached a small hood which covered the
back of the head and was worn under the mltre.^
These were his priestly vestments. Over them
were his episcopal robes, consisting of a tunic and
dalmatic of costly purple tinged with red and
ornamented In the loom.

Speaking of the dalmatic, he says '' it still retained
the grace of its original freshness and beauty, and,
as it were, crackled in the fingers of those who
handled it on account of the solidity of the work and
the stiffness of the thread. In it were interwoven
figures as well of birds as of small animals, ex-
tremely minute in their workmanship and sub-
division. To add to its beauty, the robe was
variegated with frequent dashes of citron colour, as
it were in drops. The edge was surrounded by a
border of a handsbreadth in width made of thread of
gold-like embroidery. There was a similar border
upon the extremity of each sleeve around the wrists
of the glorious bishop, while round the neck was a
broader one covering the greater part of both
shoulders, as well as hanging in front." ''His
hands," he says, "reclined upon his breast, and
appeared to be extended out with fingers towards
heaven." In regard to the chasuble which was
moved from the body at this time, he says ''it was
afterwards kept in an ivory casket at Durham,
and many miracles were attributed to it. On
the saint's feet were episcopal shoes or sandals,

^ op. cit. 172 and 3 notes.

74 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

which were perforated in front with numerous very
small holes." ^

Next to the dalmatic, says Reginald, "his holy
body " was clothed with other costly robes of silk,
the nature of which was not clearly ascertained.
Above these was a sheet nine cubits in length and
three and a half in breadth, in which the whole
mass of holy relics had been swathed. It had a
fringe of linen thread of a finger's breadth on one
of its edges ; on the sides and ends was woven a
border of an inch wide, bearing upon it a very
minute and projecting workmanship fabricated with
the thread itself, and containing on its extremity
figures of birds and beasts, so that between each
pair of them was represented a branching tree
dividing the figures. The tree appears to be put-
ting forth leaves on both sides. Under this, on the
adjacent compartment, the interwoven figures of
animals again appeared. This sheet was removed
from the body of the Saint at the time of the trans-
lation, and was long afterwards preserved in the
church, entire, on account of the gifts daily given
to it by the faithful.^

Above the sheet was still another cloth of a
thicker substance and of a threefold texture, which
covered its whole surface and all the relics beneath

^ Plummer says of such funereal sandals that, although a Christian
significance may be given them, they are probably derived from "the
hellshoon " with which it was the custom for the heathen to bind the
feet of a corpse {Gisla Saga^ Orig. Isl.^ ii. 208, where we read "it
is customary to bind hellshoon on men on which they may walk to
Valhalla." Plummer, ii. pp. 270 and 271).

"^ Raine, op. cit. 90 and 91.

CONTENTS OF ST. CUTHBERHTS COFFIN 75

it ; and above it was a third envelope saturated with
wax, which had covered the inner coffin of the holy
body externally to exclude the dust.

These three sheets were taken away at the
time, and instead of them there were put on the
body others much more elegant and costly ; the
first was of silk, thin and of most delicate texture.
The second was costly, of incomparable purple
cloth ; and the third, which was the outer and last
of all, was of the finest linen.^

Reginald repeats the list of the otherobjects found
in the coffin, as given by the anonymous author.
He adds that the scissors, according to report, had
been used to cut his hair. In regard to the comb,
he says it was perforated so that three fingers might
almost be inserted in the hole. It was of almost
equal length and breadth, and had acquired a ruddy
tint.^ I have been particular in giving details of
these objects because of the rarity of such descrip-
tions relating to so early a date, and of their
intrinsic interest to the historian of art.

At length all things were ready for the trans-
lation, and there was a great flocking to Durham
of men of all conditions. One of the abbots who
came, complained of the secret character of the
late proceedings, at which the integrity of the
Saint's body was said to have been proved ;
and even suggested that the story of the local
monks, who had a special interest in it, was a
fiction. The discussion grew very warm when

^ Raine, op. cit. 91. ^ lb. ch. 42.

7 6 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Ranulf, Abbot of Seez, afterwards Archbishop of
Canterbury, intervened and persuaded the monks
to have the matter duly investigated. Thereupon
the prior led the way, followed by the Abbot just
named, Richard, Abbot of St. Albans, Stephen,
Abbot of St. Mary at York, and Hugh, Abbot of
St. German at Selby, all in their albs ; next came
Alexander, brother of the King of Scotland (after-
wards King), and William, chaplain to the Bishop
of Durham, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury.
Then followed forty monks and seculars, and lastly
came the brethren of the Church. After a prayer
the body was brought into the choir, where the coffin
was reopened. The prior then raised his hand and
forbade, under tremendous penalty, any stranger but
the Abbot of Seez touching the body or anything con-
nected with it, and he told the rest of them to stand
hard by and to look but not to touch. The abbot afore-
said, with a brother of the Church, unfolded the vest-
ments around the venerable head (which, as we have
seen, was covered with a cloth that was glued to it),
raised it a little with both his hands in the sight of
all, and bending it backwards in different directions
found it perfect in all the joints of its neck, and
firmly attached to the rest of the body. He then
touched the ear and drew it backwards and forwards
in no gentle manner, and satisfied himself that the
body consisted of solid nerves and bones and was
clothed with the softness of flesh, and, we are told,
took care to ascertain the perfect state of the feet and
legs. He then pronounced it to be as sound and

INSPECTION OF ST. CUTHBERHT'S REMAINS 77

entire as when It was forsaken by its soul. It will
be noted that the Abbot of Seez, a very prejudiced
person, was, in fact, the only witness. All things
being arranged as before, the body of the Saint was
raised on to the shoulders of a number of bearers,
who bore it along. It was preceded by the various
caskets of relics of the other saints, the Bishop
bringing up the rear, and was duly acclaimed by the
crowd outside. When the procession had gone
round the outside of the church it halted at the east
end, where the Bishop preached a sermon, which
Reginald says was appropriate to the occasion, but
quite wore out the patience of many of the hearers
by its prolixity. It was apparently interrupted by
a sudden downfall of rain, whereupon the brethren
hastily took up the coffin and carried it into the
church, when the rain suddenly ceased. This
incident was accepted as a proof that it was not
pleasing to God that the sacred body should remain
any longer in unholy ground.^ William of Malmes-
bury, in reporting the event, tells us that the face-cloth
clung so closely to the £ace of the Saint that the
Abbot of Seez tried in vain to separate it from the
parts to which it was attached. He goes on to say
that, after the ceremony above described, all things
were ready in the new church for the translation of
the body, namely, a choir of monks, an altar, and a
sepulchre. The only obstacle was the frame of timber
upon which the newly built arch of the choir had
been " turned," which it was intended to remove by

^ Raine, op. cit. 83-85.

7 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

degrees. " But, oh, most holy one " {i.e. Cuthberht),
says Malmesbury, ''thou sufferedst not the longing
desires of thy servants to be further delayed, but
didst thyself at midnight lay it flat on the ground !
for who else could have done so mighty a deed ? "
The Prior heard the noise and ran to the spot, car-
ing little for the scaffold but sadly afraid for the
altar and pavement, but both, as well as the wood-
work, were saved from injury by the Saint.^

Let us now continue the story of the shrine.
Among the various institutions of the Middle Ages
a very singular one was the purchasing of "letters
of fraternity," by gifts and otherwise, from other
communities in order to secure their prayers. We
are told that in 1175, Dufgal, son of Sumerled,
Stephen his chaplain, and Adam of Stamford
received **the fraternity," i.e. **the brotherhood" of
the Church, at the feet of St. Cuthberht on the vigil
of St. Bartholomew, and the said Dufgal offered
two gold rings to the Saint, and promised that he
would annually pay the convent a mark of silver,
either in pence or in an equivalent.^

The treasuries of churches and shrines were
too handy for needy kings in the Middle Ages
to avoid plundering them when ready money was
so scarce. Thus we read that when Henry iii.
visited St. Cuthberht's shrine In 1255, and while
he was at his devotions, a courtier whispered in his

* Malmesbury, De Gest, Pont.^ lib. iii. ch. 135 ; Raine, op. cit.

93, 94.

2 MS. at Durham, B, iv. 24 ; Raine, 151, note.

ST. CUTHBERIirS SHRINE 79

ear that certain of his bishops had hidden much
treasure in St. Cuthberht's tomb. *' The King
made shorte, and opening the tomb found it to be
even so ; whereupon he devised to borrow the same
lest they should charge him with profanation of the
holy reliques ; but Paris {i.e. Matthew Paris) com-
plaineth that they were never half payd again." ^

Perhaps the most famous of the relics connected
with the name of Cuthberht was his corporal, i.e.
the napkin he used for covering the sacramental
elements. His anonymous biographer and Regi-
nald both tell us it was placed with the other objects
in the coffin at the translation of 1104.^ There it
remained till 1346, when, according to Sanderson,
on the night before the battle of Durham {i.e. of
Neville's Cross), the 17th October 1346, there
appeared to John Fosser, then Prior of the Abbey
of Durham, a vision commanding him to take ''the
holy corporax cloth " wherewith St. Cuthberht
covered the chalice when he used to say Mass, and
to put the same holy relique upon a spear-point, and
next morning to repair to a place on the west of
the city of Durham called the Red Hills, and there
to remain till the end of the battle. The reporter
of this claims that " the English victory was due to
the presence of the monk and of the holy relic he
had with him."

" Shordy after," he adds, "the Prior caused a
very sumptuous banner to be made with pipes of

* Lombard's Top. Dict.^ 86 ; Raine, St. Cuthberht^ 230.
2 Raine, pp. 81 and 91.

8o GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

silver, to be put on a staff five yards long, with a
device to take off and put on the said pipes at
pleasure, and to be kept in a chest in the feretory
when they were taken down, which banner was
shewn and carried about in the abbey on festival
and principal days. On the height of the upper-
most pipe was a pretty cross of silver, and a wand
of silver, having a fine wrought knob of silver on
either end, that went over the banner cloth to
which it was fastened, which wand was the thick-
ness of a man's finger, having at either end a fine
silver bell. The wand was fastened by the middle
to the banner staff under the cross. The banner
cloth was a yard broad and five quarters deep, and
the bottom of it was indented in five parts and
frinored, and made fast all about it with red silk and
gold. It was also made of red velvet on both sides,
sumptuously embroidered and wrought with flowers
of green silk and gold, and in the midst thereof was
the said holy relic and corporax cloth enclosed,
which corporax cloth was covered over with white
velvet half a yard square in every way, having a
cross of red velvet on both sides over that holy
relique, most artificially compiled and framed, being
finely fringed from the edge and skirts with fringe
of red silk and gold and three fine little silver bells
fastened to the skirts of the said banner-cloth like
unto sacring bells, and being so sumptuously
finished was dedicated to holy St. Cuthberht, to the
intent that for the future it should be carried to any
battle as occasion should serve. Whenever it was

ST. CUTHBERHrS BANNER 8i

carried In procession it was the clerk's office to
attend it, with his surphce on, with a fine red
painted staff having a fork or cleft at the upper end
thereof, which cleft was lined with soft silk, having
down under the silk to prevent bursting or bruising
of the pipes of the banner, which were of silver, or
taking down or raising up again by reason of its
great weight. There were always four men to go
along with it, besides the clerk and the man who
carried it. There was also a strong girdle of white
leather, that he who bore St. Cuthberht's banner
did wear whenever it was carried abroad. The
banner was made fast to it with two pieces of white
leather, and at each end of the two pieces a socket
of horn was fastened to put the end of the banner
staff into." ^

The Bursars' Roll for Durham Cathedral under
the years 1355-6 contains an interesting entry,
showing that the banner accompanied King Edward
the Third to recover Berwick from the Scots in his
campaign of that year. It reads : ''The expenses
of Sir William de Masham, ' the Terrarer,' towards
Scotland with the banner of St. Cuthberht, in the
suite of our Lord the King, with a pipe of wine
and a tent bought for the same, ^15, i6s. 8d."^
Again : " To expences of William de Cheker at
Newcastle with the banner of St. Cuthberht to
be carried to our Lord the King."^

In 1 400-1, Henry iv. marched against Scotland,
and we duly find an entry in the account books of

1 (9/. df. 26, quoted by Raine, 106-108. ^3. 109. * Id.

VOL. III.— 6

82 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Durham : '' For a belt bought for carrying the
banner, and for expenses incurred twice at New-
castle, and towards the march with the banner of
St. Cuthberht, by order of the Lord and King and
the Prior, 8s. od."'

Charges continue to appear for mending the
banner and for carrying it, and in 1522 it was
again in the field against Scotland to sustain the
English at Flodden. Nor was this its last
appearance. It was to lead a serried host once
more. This was in the great rebellion of the
Percies and Nevilles against Henry viii. in defence
of the great northern abbeys in 1536, known as the
Pilgrimage of Grace.^

Sanderson tells us the final doom of the banner.
He says that '* after the dissolution of the abbey it
fell into the hands of Dean Whittingham, whose
wife, being a Frenchwoman (as was reported by
credible eye-witnesses), did most despitefully burn
the robe in the fire."

Let us now return to the history of St.
Cuthberht's shrine. In the year 1372, John, Lord
Neville of Raby, spent ^200 in building a fine
feretory of marble and alabaster on which to plant
the shrine of St. Cuthberht. This work was
executed in London and taken to Newcastle by sea
at the cost of the donor, and thence removed to
Durham at the expense of the Church. The work,
together with the fine screen presented by the same
nobleman, was finished in 1380, when the altar was

^Raine, 137. ^ See Raine's Hexham^ Appendix CXXXVI. note i.

The Remains of the Feretory and Tomu of
St. Cuthrerht,

[/'</. II [., facing p. 82.

ST. CUTHBERHT'S FERETORY 83

solemnly dedicated to the Virgin, St. Oswald the
Martyr, and St. Cuthberht.^ A minute description
of the feretory as it existed at the Dissolution is
extant. *' It was 2^1 ^^^^ ^^^^Z ^^^ 23 broad, and
was of most curious workmanship of fine and costly
green marble, all lined and gilt with 'gold, having
four seats in places convenient underneath for
pilgrims or lame men * sitting ' on their knees, to
lean and rest on in the time of their offerings and
prayers. It was deemed one of the most sumptuous
monuments in all England, so great were the
offerings and jewels bestowed on it. At the end of
the shrine, and adjoining it, was a little altar where
mass was said only on the great and holy feast of
St. Cuthberht's day in Lent, at which the Prior and
the whole convent did keep open household in the
Frater-house.^ They did dine together on that day,

* Raine, op. cit. no.

^ It will be profitable to set out the supplies prepared by the
Cellarer of Durham for the week's festivities on the occasion of
St. Cuthberht's great week, which is in notable contrast with the
austerities of an earlier day. In an undated Cellarer's Roll at
Durham we read : —

" The week of the feast of St. Cuthberht and the Nativity of the
Virgin, a horse-load of fish from Sunderland, 2od. ; 260 salt herrings,
2/7; twenty cod fish {dogdraves), 1/7; six oxen and a half, 55/-;
twenty-one sheep, 35/10 ; three kids, 7/2 ; twelve pork pigs, 5/4 ;
seven dozen and three chickens, yj^j ; four dozen and a haljf pigeons,
i8d. ; other fowl {volatil), 3/1 ; cows' feet, 6d. ; fish, 8/5 ; 780 eggs,
5/1 ; five pounds of pepper, 6/8 ; half a pound of saffron, 7/6 ; six
pounds of figs ; six pounds oi xdi\svs\s {racemi magni)^ I2d. ; a quarter
of cloves {garioptoi) ; a quarter of mace {de maces\ i2d. ; four flagons
of oil, 6/8 ; two pounds of currants {racemi de currans\ lod. ; two
flagons of honey, 2/-; six pounds of almonds, i8d. ; one pound of
ginger, I2d."

In another document dated 1312-1315, and also referring to
St. Cuthberht's feast, we find : —

84 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

and no other, and at that feast and certain other
festival days they were accustomed to draw up the
cover of St. Cuthberht's shrine. Beino^ of wains-
cot a cord was fastened to a loop of iron at each
corner, which cords were all fastened together at
the ends over the midst of the cover, and a strong
rope was fastened to the loops and bindings of the
cords, which ran up and down in a pulley under the
vault over St. Cuthberht's feretory for the drawing
up of its cover. To this rope were also fastened
six fine round silver bells, which made such a
goodly sound that it stirred all the people's hearts
in the church. And the said cover was very finely
and artificially gilded, and on each side of it were
joined four living images curiously wrought, and
on the east end was painted the picture of our

" Milk, 3/4^ ; eight horse-load of fish, 28/- ; 4500 white herrings,
26/10I ; playc {i.e. plaice), Sperlings, soles, 1 1/9 ; three salmon with six
iruyts salm {i.e. salmon trout), 3/- ; an ox and three quarters, 12/- ; 327
geese, 73s. i6d. ; 302 chickens, 40s. 3d. ; thirty-eight chickens, 3/5 ;
i8(?) capons {altil)., 5/6 ; thirteen porkers, 5/- ; six dozen of plovers,
4/2 ; eight dozen of curlews, 2/- ; forty ducks, 6/- ; three stone of lard,
6/- ; 3000 eggs, 20/-."

A much larger provision was made for the week's feasting about
the same time, when Prior Burdon was installed, when the Bishop, the
Priors of the Cells, and the Justices of the Palatinate were present : —

"Forty loads of white fish, ;^8. i. i ; 11,400 herrings, £->,. 5. o ;
191 salmon and thirty trouts {truytes\ £7. 12. 3 ; sixty-six porkers,
;^i. 5. 8 ; 552 chickens and sixteen (?) capons {altil\ £2. 19. o ; 14,500
eggs, £^. 3. 5 ; milk, 3/- ; milk and fresh-water fish, 4/8 ; vinegar
{vino ac.\ and milk fodder {prebenda\ and milk, 3/9 ; congers, 7/- ;
bacon and veal, 15/1 ; ib. 7/-; a stone of lard, I5d. ; dripping,
{oxitus)^ mutton suet, 2/2 ; turbut and playc, 25/6 ; sixteen lampreys,
18/-."

In another similar entry we have mention, inter alia, of rice {rys),
honey, almonds, pepper, and cinnamon (Raine, St. Cuthberht, pp. 158,
159, notes). •

ST. CUTHBERHT'S FERETORY 85

Saviour sitting upon the rainbow to give judgment,
very artificially and lively to behold ; and at the
west end was the picture of our Lady with Christ on
her knee ; and on the height of the said cover from
end to end was a most fine 'bratishing' of carved
work, cut throughout with dragons, fowls, and
beasts, most artificially wrought, and the inside of
the coverino- was all varnished and coloured with a
most fine sanguine colour, and within the same on
the north and south side were almeries of wainscot
finely painted with little images for the reliques
belonelnof to St. Cuthberht to lie in, and when the
shrine was drawn, i.e. opened, these almeries were
opened so that every one might see the reliques
with the jewels and all the other reliques which were
hung on irons all round the feretory, and which were
accounted the most sumptuous and richest jewels
in all this land, with the beautlfullest of the fine
little images that stood in the French pierre (the
altar screen within the feretory), which had been
given by kings, queens, and other great estates.

" Within the feretory were many fine little
pictures of several saints of imagery work (i.e.
carved work), all being of alabaster, set in the French
pierre, all being curiously engraved and gilt, and the
Neville's cross and bull's head (i.e. the arms of the
family) set upon the height.

" At the east end of the feretory were very fine
candlesticks of iron, like unto sockets, which had
lights set In them before day, that every monk
might have the more light to see or read in their

8 6 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

books at the nine altars when they said Mass.
Somewhere within the feretory was the box for
holding the offerings of the faithful." ^

One duty of the keeper of the feretory when any
man or woman was disposed to offer prayers or some
gift at the shrine, was that "when they had said
their prayers and offered anything, if it were gold,
silver, or jewels, to instantly hang it on the shrine,
and if it were some curious object, such as a
unicorn's horn [i.e. a narwhal's tooth) or the tusk
of an elephant or such like, to put it within the
feretory north of the shrine."^

In 1383, Richard de Segbrok was appointed
shrine-keeper, and drew up a list of the relics which
were preserved in the feretory under his care.
Among the entries we find : An image of St.
Cuthberht, the gift of William the Bishop ; in a
small enamelled coffer the cope of St. Cuthberht,
in which he lay in the ground for eleven years ;
a small coffer of ivory containing a robe of St.
Cuthberht ornamented with tassels ; a particle of
the cloth which St. Ebba gave to St. Cuthberht, in
which he lay for four hundred and eighteen years
and five months, and a part of the chasuble in
which he lay for eleven years, in a corporax case
(this no doubt once contained the corporal after-
wards inserted in St. Cuthberht's banner, as above
described) protected by glass {glaucd stepata) ; an
ivory casket ornamented with gold and silver con-

^ Sanderson, quoted by Raine, 111-113.
^ lb. p. 114.

RELICS KEPT IN CUTHBERHT'S FERETORY 87

taining the gloves of St. Cuthberht (the casket
was the gift of Dom. Richard de Birtley, monk of
Durham) ; the book of St. Cuthberht with the copy
of the EvangeHsts ; a cloth dipped in wax which had
enveloped the body of St. Cuthberht in his grave,
and one of his vestments ; two sandals in a case of
black leather; *'in a green sheet was a winding-
sheet of a double texture, which had enveloped
the body of St. Cuthberht in his grave — Elfled ^ the
Abbess had wrapped him up in it." All these were
apparently at one time or another in the Saint's
coffin, and were all, with the exception of the books,
destroyed at the Reformation.

In addition to the income secured by the church
at Durham itself by the exhibition of the Saint and
his relics there, a selection of them was used for
the same purpose by monks who perambulated the
country to make separate collections for various
Church and charitable purposes. The practice was
revived in 14 10. On one of these occasions
William de Hexham took with him a cross of
silver gilt with an image of the Virgin inside it,
and a sandal which St. Cuthberht had worn during
divine service.^ On another occasion, when the
great tower of Durham had been injured by
lightning, John Walkere, a monk, was sent round
with indulgences, and took a fragment of the white
cloth in which the Saint's body had been swathed
four hundred years.^

* A mistake of Segbrok for Verca, ^ Raine, 139.

^ lb. 149.

8 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Bishop Pudsey was a great patron of these elee-
mosynary missions. It is reported that in his time
miracles were performed by the Saint's relics in
Scotland, and notably at Dunfermline, where St.
Margaret, a great devotee of the Saint, was buried,
and where they reaped a large harvest. The Queen
herself had bequeathed to th.e shrine a copy of the
Gospels in silver covers, a robe of fair linen, and
a cross decorated with pearls and precious stones.^

m

The shrine of our Saint was endowed with a
large number of other vestments and robes, of
which a list exists.^ Among them, probably the
most valued was the *' Parliament rpbe " of Rich-
ard II. '* It was made of blue velvet, wrought with
great lions of pure gold, *an exceedingly rich
cope.'"^ A more curious possession consisted of
two pairs of pillows, of which one is described as
of Cuthberht downe^ [ie. of the down of the eyder
duck). Another item consists of two poles for
carrying the banner of St. Cuthberht in procession
and in times of war, with a cover of hide containing
the said banner.*^

^ Raine, 91, notes. According to Reginald of Durham, on this
occasion St. Cuthberht's remains preceded those of the Queen,
although she was so greatly reverenced all over Scotland {I'if.
ch. 98). He, in fact, had precedence of all English saints in
early times. The same writer tells us how on one occasion,
to test the matter, three large candles were labelled with his
name and those of his early rivals, St. Edmund of Bury and
St. ^thelfleda, and the candle which burnt the fastest was St.
Cuthberht's, this having been accepted as a test of their potency.
On another occasion when his merits were put in competition with
St. Thomas of Canterbury and St. Edmund, the matter was tested by
tossing a coin.

2 1^. 142. • 13. 135, note. * Id. 142. * 3. 143.

TREASURES OF ST. CUTHBERHT'S SHRINE 89

Among the later patrons of the shrine were
the hapless King, Henry vi. and his vigorous queen.
They visited it in September 1448, and we read that
on the feast of St. Michael the Archangel the King
attended in person the first vespers, the procession,
the mass, and the second vespers, in the cathedral.^
In the succeeding wars the Lancastrian cause was
handsomely supported by the Prior and Convent
of Durham.^

The last reputed miracle performed by St.
Cuthberht at his shrine took place in July 1502,
while Margaret, the daughter of Henry vii., stayed
at Durham on her way to be married to the Scottish
King, when one of her suite who had been ill for
many years was restored to good health.^

His "pyx," as it was customary to call the
collecting-box at his shrine, which had received
a long succession of alms, of which the accounts
are fully preserved, was first reported to be empty
in 15 13-14, surely a rather pathetic proof that
times were changing.

In his Remains Camden has a paragraph show-
ing that the merits of the Saint were being there
doubted even by the orthodox. The story is amusing.
*' Not many years ago," he says, "a French Bishop
returning out of Scotland and coming to the church
of Durham and to the shrine of St. Cuthberht,
kneeled down, and after his devotions offered a
bauby {sic\ saying, ' Sancte Cuthberte, si sanctus sis,
ora pro me ' (Saint Cuthberht, if thou beest a saint,

' Raine, 159. 2 /^ 162-3. ^ lb, 165.

90 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

pray for me), but afterwards being brought to the
tomb of Bede, where he also said his orisons, he
offered a French crown, with this alteration :
^ Smicta Beda, quia sanctus es, or a pro Tne^ (Saint
Bede, since thou art a saint, pray for me)."^

The shrine and the feretory were not the only
notable monuments of the Saint at Durham. We
are told that when he was placed in his new
resting-place there was made in his honour a large
and curious image representing him ** finely pictured
with beautiful gilding and painting in the form he
was wont to say Mass, with his mitre on his head,
a crozier staff in his hand, and his vestments
curiously engraved, which was placed upon the
tombstone as soon as his body was enshrined, and
round the same were set up wooden ' stanchels,' so
close that a man could not put his hand between
them and could only look through. It was covered
with lead, not unlike a chapel." This precious and
harmless monument was ruthlessly destroyed by
Dean Whittingham, as were many other ancient
treasures, " being unwilling," says the reporter, ** that
any monument erected in memory of the holy St.
Cuthberht, a person sent hither by the will of
Almighty God to be the occasion of building this
monastical church and house, or of others formerly
famous in the Church, or benefactors to it, as the
priors, his predecessors, had been, and from whom
he and his successors derived the conveniences and
comforts of life, should remain undefaced ! " ^
^ Raine, i68. '^ Sanderson, in Raine, 74, note.

NOTABLE MONUMENTS OF ST. CUTHBERHT 9 1

Dr. Bright says that a curious pictorical repre-
sentation of the popular stories about St. Cuthberht
may be found behind the northern stalls of Carlisle
cathedral, with labels in English. One scene exhibits
him as forbidding " layks {i.e. games) and plays, as
St. Bede in his story says." In another we read :
" Her saw he Aydan's sowl up-go, To hevyn blyss
w' angels two." In a third we have : *' Her Bosile
teld hym y^ he must de. And after y* he (bishop)
suld be." In the death scene Cuthberht rests, with
hands clasped, in the arms of an attendant (Herefrid),
while another monk kneels in front of him. '' When
bishop two yerys he had beyn, on Fame he died
both holy and clene." ^ These labels offer us a very
reliable specimen of the early dialect of Cumberland.

It is not wonderful that the Saint who had
brought so much profit to Durham should have been
very specially recorded in other monuments. The
middle one of the nine altars there was dedicated
to St. Cuthberht and to St. Bede. Many of the
windows in the great church were painted with
stories from his life or with his miracles. These
are almost entirely destroyed. On the other hand,
we still have at York one of the finest specimens
known of fifteenth-century glass, which, notwith-
standing that it has suffered damage in several
removals for the purpose of saving it from de-
struction, and still more from repairs, remains a
glorious monument of the skill and taste of the
English glass painters. This is the famous

^ Op» cit. 499.

9 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Cuthberht window In York Minster, where it
almost fills the south end of the eastern transept.
It contains eighty-five panels devoted to the various
incidents of the Saint's life, and has been described in
detail in a masterly monograph by my learned friend
Canon Fowler, F.S.A., in xh^ Journal of the York-
shire Arch. Society, iv. 249-368. Describing the
glass, he says : " Nothing can surpass the rich gemlike
effect of, for instance, the little pot-metal sparkling
ruby flowers set in the midst of the clumps of green
or yellow leafage. Such details point to a period
when art was naturalised, and the poetry of colour
perceived intuitively."^ It is noticeable that the
scenes of the earlier part of the Saint's life in the
window are taken from the mythical Irish Saga.
He was also represented as the companion of St.
Oswald in a fine alabaster statue in the altar screen
at Durham. Another image of him was in the screen
between the nave and chancel. A great figure in
stone, holding his crozier in one hand and St.
Oswald's head in the other, now much mutilated
and removed within the feretory, was in one of the
external canopies of the central tower.

The part taken by the brotherhood of Durham
in the famous rebellion known as the Pilgrimage
of Grace naturally brought upon it a very special
vengeance from the authorities, and we read how the
shrine of St. Cuthberht was then cruelly ''defaced."

At the visitation held at Durham, Sanderson
says that the Commissioners Lee, Henley, and

1 Op. cit. p. 368.

OTHER MONUMENTS OF ST. CUTHBERHT 93

Blithman found many valuable and goodly jewels,
especially one precious stone, which by the valua-
tion of the visitors and their lapidaries was of
sufficient value to redeem a prince. "After the
spoil of his ornaments and jewels," he says, ''they
approached near to his body, expecting nothing but
dust and ashes, but perceiving the chest he lay in
was strongly bound with iron, the goldsmith, with
a smith's great forge-hammer, broke it open, when
they found him whole, uncorrupt, with his face,
hands, and his beard as of a fortnight's growth, and
all the vestments about him as he was accustomed to
say Mass, and his ' metwand ' of gold lying by him.
When the goldsmith perceived that he had broken
one of his legs in breaking open the chest, he was
sore troubled at it and cried, whereupon Dr. Henley
hearing it, called to him and bade him cast down
the bones ; the other answered he could not get
them apart, since the sinews and skin held them
together, so that they would not separate. Then
Dr. Henley examined him {i.e. the Saint) and
found he was whole, and told them to take it down.
Whereupon the visitors had him carried into the
revestry till the King's pleasure concerning him
was further known, and on the receipt thereof the
prior and monks buried him in the ground under
the place where his shrine had been, and which is
still marked by a large blue stone, behind the altar.
In the pavement near it are some grooves said to
have been made by the knees of the pilgrims. It
was therefore had in greater regard than the remains

94 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

of St. Edmund, St. Thomas, and others, which were
all burnt."

Harpsfield, Archdeacon of Canterbury in Queen
Mary's reign, describing the same occurrence,
tells us how Cuthberht's wooden coffin, which
was cased in white marble, was broken, and his
body was by orders of Bishop Tunstall put in
a grave at the very spot where the shrine had
been.

Mr. Raine, although very strongly prejudiced
against the old order of things, speaks pathetically
of the ruthless destruction of the priory (so closely
connected with our Saint), and her children. *' She
was bent down to the ground," he says, " like a
second Niobe bereft of her offspring. Her daughter
cells of Holy Island, Fame, Jarrow, Wearmouth,
Finchale, Lythum, and Stamford, and her college
in Oxford, had all been annihilated by the Act
27th Henry viii., 1536. She had, like a full-grown
oak upon the summit of a hill, seen the axe of
innovation lay flat one green tree after another
beneath her with an uninjured edge, and she. must
daily and hourly have anticipated the" levelling of
that same unblunted axe against her oWn dry root.
She had endured five hundred years, and if eight
stately trees (densissima silva) which grew under
her protecting shade had been cut away, she, the
mother, standing as she was, unimpaired and stretch-
ing out her branches from side to side, must have
known she was to fall at no distant period." ^ Her

*0/. ciL 172, 173.

"^:;:'|!|;iiiiillliliS3IKil!feffi^

Details of St. Cuthrerht's Coffin.

[Vo/. 1 1 1., facing p. 94.

DEFACEMENT OF CUTHBERHT'S MONUMENT 95

fate, indeed, came four years later, with that unspar-
ing hurricane by which :

" Green leaves, with yellow mixed, were torn away,
And goodly fruitage with the mother spray."

It was not the shrine only which was largely
destroyed, but the other memorials of the Saint
also.

Nor was it till about three centuries had passed
away that the grave of the Saint was again disturbed.
This was on 27th May 1827, when many of the
more interesting remains were removed to the
library at Durham, where they are now kept.

When the cover of Frosterly marble, 8 feet
10 inches by 4 feet 3 inches, which had been
placed there in 1542, was then removed, it dis-
closed a stone grave made of freestone. At the
bottom of this was a large high coffin of oak in
great decay, not shaped, as usual, with projecting
shoulders, but in the form of a parallelogram. It
had been made of oak planks one inch and three-
quarters in thickness, and had been ornamented with
a "mitred" moulding, with which exception its
bottom, lid and sides were plain ; rods of iron, half
an inch in diameter, had been inserted at proper
distances in a perpendicular hole made down the
middle of the plank. There were three such rods,
which were meant to strengthen it, beside which
were three large rings on each side, riveted to the
coffin by four screw-nails to each. The lid was
nearly entire, but from the dampness of the grave

96 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

was shrunken like a scroll of shrivelled parchment.
The mouldings were all loose. Otherwise, the rest
of the coffin was in fragments. Inside it were the
remains of another in a still more decayed condition,
and here and there were still clinging to it fragments
of the envelope, which Mr. Raine thinks was origin-
ally made of skin.

These fragments of the inner coffin and its
ornaments are very interesting from the extreme
rarity of any similar remains of that date, and a few
lines may be devoted to them. The most perfect
fragment, representing the upper part of the figure of
St. John, doubtless formed one of a series of similar
figures which were cut on the sides and ends of the
coffin. The incised lines are about an eighth of an
inch in width and depth, and have an angular section.
The figures have mostly a nimbus, their right hand
is generally elevated and laid upon the breast, with
the first two fingers extended as if giving the bene-
diction, and the left hand, covered by a part of the
robe, supports a book, probably intended to re-
present the New Testament. The figure has the
inscription iohannis (sic) by its side ; on the other
side, stretching over the edge of the wood,
are the letters Kus, probably the last letters
of Markus — St. Mark — of whose fiofure no trace
remains. There is also the lower part of a figure
of St. Luke, with the inscription lucas, and im-
mediately beneath it a bull with a nimbus round
its head. There are others of St. Thomas (with
his name), St. Peter (holding the keys in his right
•

Details of St. Cuthberht's Coffii

[k'o/. II I., fachig p. 96.

CARVINGS ON CUTHBERHT'S INNER COFEIN 97

hand), St. Andrew, St. Matthew, St. Michael,
St. Paul (a bearded figure with the letters pa), a
fragment of a figure inscribed kar, a fragment of
another figure representing the Saviour, as appears
from a broken inscription in Runic letters repre-
senting a contraction of lesus Sanclus.

The figures on the lid and bottom are of larger
size ; only small fragments remain of them. '* I
have before me," says Mr. Raine, "tracings of the
heads of these four figures, some of them with
wings, the face of the largest of which is five inches
long ; another, of almost the same size, holds a
sceptre, and a mutilated inscription beginning with
scs inclines one to believe it a representation of St.
Oswald ; and a third, inscribed iac, designates pro-
bably St. James. Of the fourth, only the face remains.
Large fragments with representations of drapery exist
which evidently belonged to the heads just named.

On a piece of the lower end of the lid is a short-
winged figure, the '' label " to which is worn away.
There are other curious fragments, such as a well-
carved figure of the Virgin and Child, the two fore feet'
of a lion, the head and neck of an eagle in a nimbus,
and on a small fragment of wood the letters pus, evi-
dently the latter part of episcopus, probably attached
to a figure of St. Cuthberht which has been lost.

Mr. Raine calls attention to the resemblance of the
letters in the inscriptions just named to the more
simple of the capitals in St. Cuthberht's Gospels,^
as also to the capitals of another MS. of the

^ Vide infra.
VOL. III. — 7

9 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

same date at Durham/ on which Johannis is so
used as the nominative case of the Evangelist's
name, instead of Johannes.^

Some interesting relics of the Saint were found
in his coffin when it was opened. Most of these are
now in the library of Durham Cathedral. For the
most part, if not altogether, the vestments, however,
belong to a later time. The original ones were
no doubt too humble and homely to suit the position
after the shrine became very rich. Among the sub-
stituted pieces which still remain at Durham are
some notable specimens of the needlework and
embroidery of a later date, namely, the stole and
maniple embroidered in the tenth century for
Bishop Frithestan of Winchester, by Queen ^^Iffled
(sic), as is proved by the embroidered inscription
on them.^ There is also a robe of Saracenic or
Persian origin with fine designs in Eastern taste,
probably of still later times. Other remains, how-
ever, can claim a closer personal tie with the
Saint himself. His episcopal ring, a plain one
ornamented with a sapphire, was saved at the de-
struction of the priory. It afterwards fell into the
hands of Thomas Watson, Dean of Durham, a
devoted Roman Catholic, who was made Bishop of
Lincoln in 1557. He presented it to Sir Thomas
Hare, by whom it was given to Anthony Brown, Lord

^ A, ii. 7. See Raine, St. Cuthberht, 192. ' lb.

■ See Raine, St. Cuthberht^ 205. A minute and excellent account
of these embroideries has been published by Professor Baldwin Brown,
and Mrs. A. H. Christie in the Burlington Magazine^ vol. xxiii. pp. 6
and 67.

o

a;

u

Q

w

a

Pi

w

PQ
H

u

RELICS IN ST. CUTHBERHT'S COFFIN 99

Montacute. He gave it to Doctor Richard Smith,
Roman Catholic Bishop of Chalcedon, who states
these facts in his Flores Historiarwn, p. 1 20. Accord-
ing to Alban Butler, he gave it to the Monastery
of English Canonesses at Paris, who also preserved
a tooth of the Saint.^ In 1855 it was transferred
to St. Cuthberht's College at Ushaw. There is a
figure of it in the ArchcBologia yEliana, vi. 66-68.

Cuthberht's pectoral cross was also found in his
coffin in 1826, and is preserved at Durham. It is
of the shape known as a cross pattde. It was found
among the remains of the robes, and was attached
by a silken thread covered with gold. A cross, says
Bishop Browne, with arms of the same type in the
main motive, is figured in one of the magnificent
pages of the Lindisfarne Gospels. The cross is of
gold, with a large garnet in the centre, another in
each angle, and twelve upon each of the branches.
The loop by which it was suspended is of bright
yellow gold. One of the arms had been broken
long before and had been repaired with rivets.
Some of the thread by which it was suspended was
observed on the neck of the skeleton.

'*I consider," says Raine, "the cross as a personal
relic of the Saint, and it was adopted by the monks
of Durham after 1083, or perhaps earlier, as is
shown by the symbol on their seal of the priory,
which is inscribed : The seal of Cudberht the holy
Bishop." The matrix is still extant at Durham,
and I have given a picture of it.

^ Raine, St. Cuthberht^ 174-176.

loo GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Another personal relic of the Saint, which is also
preserved in a ruined and fragmentary state at
Durham, is Cuthberht's portable altar. Bishop
Browne has described and given a figure of it. He
says it is 6 inches by 5|- inches square, and consists of
a piece of oak one-third of an inch thick, covered
all over with a silver plate. A considerable part of
the silver has been lost on both sides. In all
probability the tablet of wood had been used by
itself before St. Cuthberht's time for the purpose of
a portable altar, for it bears the inscription :

INHONOR . . . SPETRV

The letters are of a very early type, correspond-
ing to those in the Lindisfarne Gospels. The N
has its left member much longer than the other ;
the O is diamond shaped, and the S is like a Z
turned round. The Petru must be the Greek
genitive of Petros.

On the other side there is an inscription on the
silver face in raised repousse letters, beaten out
from behind. It reads :

P . . . O S . . . S

that is, Petros Apostolos, or Paulos Apostolos. The
inscription on the wood makes it practically certain
it was Petros.

In the centre of what may be called the obverse
side is an ornament in a circle. It consists of an
equal-armed cross with a circular centre, and semi-

ST. CUTHBERHT'S PORTABLE ALTAR loi

circular or horseshoe extremities to the arms. In
the four angles formed by the arms are pretty
patterns of Anglian interlacements of a continuous
line.

Round the circle is an inscription which has
been found difficult to read. It is part of a Greek
phrase written in Latin letters. In this all agree.
Mr. Raine, following that on Acca's altar/ has
read it, '^O HAGIA ET ERASTE " (O holy
and beloved), and suggested the additional word
Trinity or Wisdom or Mary. Bishop Browne
objects that there is no question that the middle
word is EC, the Greek preposition for "of" or
"out of" or "from." He further thinks that Mr.
Raine s G or S cannot be maintained. The curved
lines like an S are only marks of division between
words.^ The mixed inscriptions and other features
of the monument seem in any case to compel the
conclusion that the maker of the altar was a Greek.

As we shall see, a similar altar was found on
the breast of Bishop Acca when his tomb was
opened about the year looo.^

According to Bede, Cuthberht wrote a set of
expositions entitled Ordinationes suae ecclesiae, and
beginning Prima regula est de Do7nino. He also
wrote Praecepta vitae regularis,^ This shows that
in his time the Benedictine Rule had not yet
become dominant in England as it became in later

* Vide infra.

* Bishop Browne, Theodore and Wilfrith^ 278.
^ See Raine, op, cit. 199-201.

* Bale, Scriptores Brit.^ i. 84 ; Diet, of Chr. Biog., i. 728.

102 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

times. In fact, it is probable that its use in England
was at this time limited to St. Wilfrid's monasteries.

In his dying speech the Saint seems to allude
to one of his tracts in his reference to a body of
rules and regulations drawn up for the Church over
which he presided. The book of the Gospels which
he habitually used was expressly written for him by
Eadfrid, who presently became the eighth Bishop
of Lindisfarne, and it is known as the Lindisfarne
Gospels. An account will be given of it later on
under Eadfrid. It remained at Lindisfarne till the
monks were driven out by the Danes, and then
became the companion of the Saint's travels, and, as
we have seen, fell into the sea in the Solway Firth and
was afterwards recovered. It still bears evidence
of its bath. Presently it was returned to Lindisfarne,
where a colony of monks from Durham had settled
in 1095 ^^^ had built the church of which so many
interesting ruins exist. There it remained till the
Dissolution, and subsequently fell into the hands
of Sir Robert Cotton, apparently after it had been
stripped of its rich covering. With his library it
passed to the British Museum, and is now numbered
*' Nero D, iv." It lost its binding at the Reforma-
tion/

A copy of St. John's Gospel which was put
on the lid of the inner coffin of St. Cuthberht, and
was found there when it was opened in 1104, was
not replaced, but remained in the church till the
Reformation, when it fell into private hands and

* See Raine, 34, note.

ST. CUTHBERHT'S GOSPELS 103

became the property of one of the Earls of
Lichfield, one of whom gave it to the Rev. T.
Phillips, author of the Life of Cardinal Pole, who
presented it to the College of Jesuits at Liege in
the year 1769. When the college was suppressed
some of its members brought it to England.-^ It is
now at St. John's College at Stonyhurst. It is a
very interesting volume, and there is good reason
to believe it is the very book from which Cuthberht
read to his master Bosil when the latter was dying.
The MS. is of small size, only 5^ by ^\ inches,
and there are nineteen lines of text on each page.
It was described by the Rev. John Milner in the
sixteenth volume of the Archcsologia. It bears the
following inscription on the leaf opposite to the
beginning of the Gospel : ** Evangelium Johannis
quod inventum flier at ad caput Beati Patris nostri
Cuikberhti, in sepulchro jacens anno translationis
ipsiusy This gloss is in a very ancient hand-
writing. The characters of the writing of the book
itself, says Westwood, bear intrinsic evidence of an
antiquity as high as the age of St. Cuthberht, and
it is written without chapters, verses, diphthongs,
or points of any kind. The letters are all uncials
or capitals, and for the most part Roman, but having
the ** N " often of the Anglo-Saxon form, with the
oblique stroke arising very low upon the first
perpendicular stroke.

Dr. Milner points out a number of variants in
the text, which go to show that the version it

^ Raine, p. 78, note.

104 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

followed was not that of the New Vulgate of
Jerome, but of the Old Vulgate which preceded
Jerome's alterations. It is noteworthy that it con-
tains the story of the woman taken in adultery.
The first word " In " in the book is alone written in
red letters, and the passage " Fuit homo missus a
Do" commences with a capital " F " rather smaller
than the initial ** I." The name Johannes is spelt
correctly.^

Reginald of Durham tells a quaint story of this
book. He says that in the time of Hugh, Bishop
of Durham, William, Archbishop of York, visited
the shrine of St. Cuthberht, and was shown the more
precious treasures of the church ; among others, was
the most precious of all, the book of St. Cuthberht
which the sacrist Benedict, who was dressed in
his alb, carried suspended around his neck. The
archbishop took it, opened and read it, and
then hung it round the necks of his domestics
and friends in turn. The sacrist had never seen
the precious book opened before. It was kept in
three bags, one enclosed within another, made of
red leather.^

Another companion of Cuthberht's wanderings
was the polished stone cross which Bishop ^thel-
wald, his friend, had designed.^ It was probably
made in the fashion of the other crosses of the time,
and ornamented with interlaced work. On it

^ Westwood, op. cit.^ " The Gospels of Saints Augustine and
Cuthberht," 5 and 6.

* Reginald of Durham, Libellus^ ch. xci.

* Sym. Dun., Hist. EccL Dun.y i. ch. xii.

Shak'J' of the Cross which Bishop Browne identifies

AS THAT OF BiSHOI' /KtHELWOLD.

[ / 'ol. [II. , facing p. 104.

^THELWALD^S CROSS T05

i^thelwald put his own name, but it had apparently
been made in honour of St. Cuthberht. It was at
Lindisfarne until the Danes came. They broke off
its head, which was afterwards fastened to the body
again with lead. In Symeon of Durham's day it
was standing erect (starts sublimis) in the cemetery
at Durham. We are told it accompanied Cuthberht's
remains in their perambulations.^ How an object
of such weight could have been thus moved about
is not easy to understand ! Bishop Browne has
suggested that this monument still exists in part
in a beautiful shaft of a cross which was some years
ago taken out of the wall of St. Oswald's Church at
Durham. I have his permission to reproduce this
shaft, of which he says there is no reason of date or
style why it should not be as tradition makes it,
the shaft of ^thelwald's cross.^

^ Hist. Eccl. Du7i.^ i. ch. xii. Leland says it was still there in his
day {Co 11.^ i. 370).

^ See Browne, Theodore and Wilfrith.^ 209, 293.

CHAPTER XII

ST. CUTHBERHTS CONTEMPORARIES,
FRIENDS, AND PUPILS

However exemplary a saint Cuthberht was, he
was a very unsatisfactory, not to say ridiculous,
bishop, and we cannot realise how his diocese was
managed at all while he hid away in his anchorite's
cell and refused to see any one save through a peep-
hole. On his death St. Wilfrid took charge of the
see for twelve months until a fitting occupant could
be found for it. As we have seen, Wilfrid's stricter
discipline and more rigid adherence to Roman ways
caused much heart-burning among the monks there.
A suitable successor was presently found in a certain
Eadberht,^ who was doubtless a monk of the
monastery. Bede describes him as a man renowned
for his knowledge of the Scriptures and for his
observance of the divine precepts and almsgiving.
He every year gave a tithe not only of his four-
footed beasts, but even, says Bede, of all corn and
fruits, and also gave clothes to the poor.^ He
tells us further that he took off the thatch from the
oaken church built by St. Aidan at Lindisfarne,

1 Bede, H.E., iv. 27 [29]. * 2 /^^

106

BISHOP EADBERIIT 107

and covered not only the roof but also the walls
with lead.^ As we have seen, he consented to the
translation of St. Cuthberht's body, which he ordered
the monks to carry out on the anniversary of his
deposition, 20th March 698.^

Bede tells us that Eadberht used in Lent and
during the forty days before Christmas to retire to
a place encompassed by the ocean {i.e. some island
other than Fame), where he indulged in various
austerities. He was absent on one of these retreats
when the translation of Bede's remains took place,
and when the monks took him a portion of the
Saint's garments he kissed them as if they had
still been on the latter's body. He then bade
them deposit the remains in the new coffin they
had prepared and in its new garments. ** I am
very certain," he added, "that its old resting-place
will not long remain empty, having been sanctified
by so many miracles of heavenly grace." He
added that the man would indeed be happy to
whom the Lord should grant the privilege of lying
in the same spot. He fell ill and died on the 6th
of May 698, after having been bishop for ten years,
and they buried him in the grave where Cuthberht
had once been, and placed the latter's new coffin
with that Saint's body in it on a stand over the old
grave. " The miracles of healing sometimes wrought
in that place testified," we are told, **to the merits
of both." ^

Alcuin, in his poem, "de Clade Lindisf.

I Bede, H.E., iii. 25. ^ /^^ jy^ 28 [30]. ^ y^.

1 08 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Monast.," vv. 169 and 170, attributes a miracle to
him not mentioned by Bede.^

"Composuit precibus Eadberht minitantia mortem
Flabra, plus praesul vester et ipse pater."

He has a place in the Calendar on May the 8th.

His relics shared the fate of those of St.
Cuthberht, and some of them were placed in his
coffin and were found in it when it was opened in
1827.^ A life of him in Anglo-Saxon which, ac-
cording to Hardy, is entirely taken from Bede, is
extant in two eleventh-century MSS.^

He was succeeded by Eadfrid, who became a
priest at the age of thirty, spent the rest of his
life in writing books, and was greatly devoted to St.
Cuthberht. In regard to this, Symeon's words are :
'' MultuTn fervens amove y The author of the an-
onymous life of Cuthberht dedicated it to Eadfrid
and to *'the family" at Lindisfarne, at whose instance
he said he had written it. His fame rests very
largely on his having been the scribe of the most
interesting and beautiful of all early illuminated
MSS., namely, the so-called Lindisfarne Gospels.
This famous book was described in the inventories
of the House at Durham as " Liber S. Cuthberti qui
demersus est in mare,'' referring to the bath it had had
in the sea.* At the Dissolution it passed into the
hands of Robert Bowyer, Clerk of the Parliaments in
the reign of James i., from whom it was acquired by

* See also Plummer, ii. 271.

^ Raine, Cuthberht^ 79 ; Diet, of Chr. Biog., ii. 3.

^ Hardy, Catalogue, i. 365. * Ante, p. 102.

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THE LINDISFARNE GOSPELS 109

Sir Robert Cotton, and is now labelled '' Nero D, iv."
among the Cottonian MSS. in the British Museum.
The text of these Gospels with theirinvaluable North-
umbrian criosses has been edited for the Surtees
Society by Stevenson and Waring, while a more
exact rendering was brought out by the Syndics of the
Cambridge University Press and edited by Kemble
and Hardwick, and since their deaths by Skeat. The
glosses have been printed by Karl Bouterwek/

The origin and earlier history of the volume are
told in a gloss it contains written in the tenth
century, and in the Northumbrian dialect, by the
scribe Aldred, who in it styles himself the son of
Alfred and Tilwin, and who was not improbably,
as Dr. O'Conor urged in his Catalogue of the
Stozve MSS., the same Aldred who was Bishop of
Chester-le-Street from 957 to 968.^

The paragraph in question is not quite clear in
meaning, is written in the vernacular, and contains
occasional Latin words. It was thus translated by
Professor Skeat : ^ —

" Eadfri^, Bishop of the Lindisfarne Church, at
the first wrote this book in honour of God and Saint
Cu^berht and all the saints in common that are in
the island. And Ed'ilwald, Bishop of the people of
the Lindisfarne Island, made it firm on the outside
and covered it as well as he could, and Billfri^ the

* Dig vier Evangelien in altnordhumbrischer Sprache, 800, 1857 ;
Diet, of Chr. Biog., ii. 7.

2 Op. cit. ii. 180.

* The Gospel according to Saint John in Anglo-Saxon and
Northumbrian Versions^ 1878, p. viii.

1 1 o GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Anchorite {se oncre,) wrought in smith's work the
ornaments that are on the outside and adorned
it with gold and also with gems, and overlaid it
with silver, a treasure without deceit [faconleas fek,
i.e. with unalloyed metal), and Aldred, an unworthy
and most miserable priest, with the help of God
and Saint Cu^berht overglossed it [kit ofergloesade)
in English (on englisc) and made himself at home
{gihamadi) with the three parts — Matthew's part,
for the honour of God and St. Cud^berht, Mark's
part for the Bishop, and Luke's part for the brother-
hood, — together with eight oras of silver for his
own admission, — and Saint John's part for himself,
together with four oras of silver [deposited] with
God and Saint Cu^berht, to the end that he might
gain admittance into heaven through God's mercy,
and on earth happiness and peace, promotion and
dignity, wisdom and prudence, through Saint
Cu^berht's merits.

** Eadfri^, CEa^iluald, Billfri^, and Aldred made
and adorned this Gospel book in honour of God
and Saint Cud^berht."

There is no reason to doubt the tradition in the
Abbey thus preserved by Aldred as to the origin
of the book, which was their greatest treasure.

Sir E. M. Thompson (who has discussed the
authorship of the glosses, some of which are
written in red ink and some in black, with certain
variants in orthography) attributes them all to this
same Aldred.^ The text, he says, was written by

^ Cat. MSS. Brit. Mus.^ ii. Latin, i6 and 17.

THE LINDISFARNE GOSPELS iii

Bishop Eadfrld, who held the see from 698 to 721.
It was doubtless written before he became Bishop,
since It would seem to have been put together in
honour of St. Cuthberht, who died in 687.

The fame and importance of the MS. necessitate
a somewhat detailed description of It, since it is by
far the most important artistic monument associated
with St. Cuthberht and his companions. Westwood,
in describing it, says : "This noble MS., the glory
of the Cottonian Library, and the most elaborately
ornamented of all the Anglo-Saxon MSS., consists
of 258 leaves of thick vellum, measuring 13I by
9I inches, and containing the four Gospels written
in double columns, according to Jerome's version,
with an interlineary Anglo-Saxon gloss. The text
of the Gospels is preceded by the Epistle of St.
Jerome to Damasus, Jerome's own preface, the
Epistle of Eusebius to Carpianus, the Euseblan
Canon, the arguments of each Gospel, and the
capittda of the Lessons to be read on different
festivals. The Ammonlan sections and references
to the canons are noted in the margin."

Sir Edward Thompson points out that the
arrangement of the chapters of all four Gospels
corresponds with that in the well-known Codex
Amiatinus, which I have discussed in an appendix,
and I see no reason to doubt that the text was,
in fact, taken from that most famous of Abbot
Ceolfrld's MSS.

In describing the writing, the same great
authority says the text is written stichometrically

1 1 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

in very beautifully formed half-uncial letters of a
massive type, with occasional use of capitals, the
words being generally separated. Each Gospel is
divided into sections for Lessons, each one begin-
ning with an ornamental initial letter and numbered
in red. The subdivisions of Ammonian sections
are marked by smaller initial letters, as well as by
the marginal reference numbers.

The titles of the Gospels and generally those
of the prefaces, etc., are in red half-uncial letters
like the text. Each Gospel also has with the title
similar letters in gold the names of the symbols :
p, IHS, XPS, "Mathaeus homo," " Marcus leo,"
"P Lucas vitulus," *' ^ Johannis (sic) aquila." The
colophons and some of the titles are in large and
fanciful slender capitals, red and black. The titles
and colophons of the Eusebian tables are also in
the same fanciful capitals.^

Westwood gives us more details. He says :
" The text of the Gospels is continued throughout,
without any illuminated capitals to the several
divisions, the first letter of each verse rather larger
than the text, and coloured with patches of red,
green, etc. The letters of the Latin text are quite
similar to, but smaller than, those of the Book of
Kells, the Gospels of St. Chad, of Mac Regol, etc. ;
the * d ' is either uncial or minuscule, the * f, p, q '
with short tails below the lines ; the ' r ' either
capital or shaped like ' n ' ; the * s ' also either
capital or like * f,' the top elevated above the line.

^ Thompson, op. cit. 15.

-f^l^XlcasUToilTT^-

]U<^\prCT'Vair^Uv,r y^p'^--^ .Aocnuchnnrncn^^

Ornamental Inhiai. Letter of St. Luke's Gospel in the

LlNDISFARNE .MS.

[l^o/. 1 1 1., facing; fi. 112.

THE LINDISFARNE GOSPELS 113

The letters at the end of the Hnes are often
singularly conjoined for want of space." ^ The
whole or part of the first word in each of the various
capitals in the volume is formed of ornamental
letters. The first page of each Gospel (and in
St. Matthew, also of the " Liber generationis ") and
of the first preface of St. Jerome, is in large letters
of most elaborate patterns, with borders, etc.^

On the subject of the illustrations I find
myself differing from those who have written on
the book.

It seems to me quite plain that these ornamental
letters and the illuminations generally were the
handiwork of more than one artist, and consist of
three quite different types of ornament. One of
these classes, constituting the great portion of the
book, is of unmistakably Irish work, and must, it
seems to me, have been designed and painted by
an Irish artist. They are precisely of the type and
technique of the illuminations contained in well-
known Irish MSS. Is it impossible that a famous
Irish artist named Ultan, mentioned as a well-
known illuminator ^ by ^thelwulf in his poem on
the abbots, was the painter of these wonderful Irish
pictures ?

"The large initial letters are of gigantic
dimensions and most elegantly ornamented with
a combination of geometrical patterns, interlaced
ribbons, spiral lines, and intertwined lacertine

* Westwood, Pal. Bibl.^ 163. ^ Thompson, op. cit. 15.

• Vide infra^ p. 133.
VOL. III. — 8

1 14 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

animals, birds and beasts with necks, legs, and
bodies knitted and woven together, while the
most perfect harmony and accuracy of detail are
maintained.

" The pigments are brilliant and generally light
in tint, and are for the most part thickly laid on.
This gives the patterns the appearance of enamel,
an effect which Is generally enhanced by filling in
the interstices with black. Gold is used in one or
two places, but only as minute spots or to fill small
triangles.

'' Many of the fanciful letters and the initial
letters of sections are filled with patches of colour,
and are edged with or laid upon a background of
red dots, which are often arranged in patterns."^

" The initial letter * N ' of the Epistle of St.
Jerome has the first stroke elongated down the left
margin of the page, and the connecting stroke is
composed of two large spiral ornaments. The
Initial of the ' Liber generationis ' is large and of
the rounded form; the *i' formed Into a long 'j,'
crossing the lower part of the '1,' and the *b' also
large and of the rounded form (as in the Gospels of
the Bibliotheque du Roi, published by Silvestre, etc.),
and the initial letters of the two other Gospels,
* I N I ' i^Initium) and * I N P ' [In Principio), are
conjoined together as In most of the early Anglo-
Saxon and Irish Codices, the first stroke being
nearly 1 1 Inches long.

" The wonderful precision and delicacy of touch

^ Thompson, op. cit. 16.

THE LINDISFARNE CxOSPELS 115

exhibited in the ornamental patterns of which these
three initials are composed have justly attracted the
admiration of every writer on the subject. It is
difficult to imaoine what were the instruments of

o

the caligrapher, so perfectly regular and free from
error is the drawing, even in the most complicated
parts of the patterns ; indeed, from the appearance
of the reverse of the leaves, it seems evident that
a very hard instrument has been used." Westwood
suggests that it could only have been executed by
means of cut tools or blocks. The other letters
in these ornamental pages vary from half an inch
to I J inch in height ; they are greatly diversified in
form, scarcely any two being alike, many of them
the result of the fancy of the caligrapher, ''others,"
says Westwood, '' obtained from other sources than
the Roman alphabet. The pure Greek letters found
in this and other contemporary MSS. are to be
accounted for from the intercourse between the
Irish, Anglo-Saxon, and Greek Christians. The
capital ' M ' also, singularly formed, as it mostly is,
of three perpendicular strokes united across the
middle with one horizontal bar, or occasionally
with two bars, is not to be found in any Roman
inscription."

'' The Eusebian Canons are inscribed within
highly ornamented columns supporting rounded
arches of beautiful execution, except the first
words of the prefaces, arguments, and capitula
of each of the Gospels, which are written in letters
of larger size and ornamented like the title-pages."

1 1 6 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Let us now turn to another class of designs.
These include, beside the Illuminated title-pages,
the initial page of each of five divisions of the
volume. They are completely covered with
coloured tesselated patterns of the utmost intri-
cacy, generally disposed so as to form a cruciform
design in the centre of the page. This elaborately
beautiful feature is entirely peculiar to the MSS.
executed In Ireland or by the Irish scholars, and in
its neatness, precision, and delicacy far surpasses
the productions of contemporary artists on the
Continent. The style and design point, however,
to another hand than the author of the paintings
last described.

A third artist was probably a foreigner, or
some Englishman who had learnt from a foreigner.
His are the likenesses of the Evangelists, each
accompanied by his respective symbol. They each
occupy a page at the head of the several Gospels,
and are executed in a style of art quite unlike that
of the Irish or early Anglo-Saxon school, and bear-
ing evident traces of Byzantine origin, not only in its
composition but also in the Greek words inscribed
(in Roman capitals) — "O Agios Matthaeus," instead
of the Latin " Sanctus Matthaus," and which in
the picture of St. Mark is written *' O Aglus (sic)
Marcus," with a Latin termination. Waagen says
of the designs : " They are, notwithstanding, very
different from the contemporary Byzantine and
Italian paintings, as well as from those of the
monarchy of the Franks of the eighth and ninth

IxiTiAi. Pack of One of the Five Divisions of the

LiNDISFARNE MS.

[ / 'cl. III. , facing p. 1 16.

THE LINDISFARNE GOSrELS 117

centuries, for in all these the character of ancient
art, in which the four Evangelists were originally
represented. Is very clearly retained in the design
and treatment ; these paintings, on the contrary,
have a very barbarous appearance, but are executed
in their way with the greatest mechanical skill.
Nothing remains of the Byzantine models but the
attitudes, the fashion of the dress, and the form of
the seats. Instead of the broad antique execution
with the pencil, in water colours, in which the
shadows, lights, and middle tints were given, all
the outlines here are very delicately traced with the
pen and only the local colours put on, so that the
shadows are entirely wanting, with the exception
of the sockets of the eyes and along the nose. The
faces are quite Inanimate, like apiece of calligraphy ;
the folds of the drapery are marked with a very
different local colour from that of the drapery itself;
thus, for instance, in the green mantle of St.
Matthew they are vermilion. Besides this, there
is no meaning except in the principal folds of the
garments ; in the smaller ones the strokes are quite
arbitrary and mechanical. Among the colours,
which are often laid on very thick, only the red
and blue are, properly speaking, opaque, but all of
them are as brilliant as if the paintings had been
finished only yesterday. Gold, on the contrary, is
used in very small portions."^

It is most unlikely that these last pictures with

^ Waagen's Art and Artists in England^ i. 137 ; West wood's
Palceographia Sacra^ 162-164.

1 1 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

their inspiration should have been painted by the
Irish scribes, who almost certainly illuminated the
rest of the volume.

In reofard to the covers of the volume, there is
some ambiguity. '' Aldred, as we have seen, says
that Oi^ilwald, Bishop of the people of the Lindis-
farne Island" {i.e, Eadfrid's successor), made it {i.e.
the book) firm on the outside and covered it as well
as he could, and Billfrid the anchorite wrought in
smith's work the ornaments that are on the outside,
and adorned it with gold and also with gems over-
laid with silver, a treasure without deceit {i.e. made
of unalloyed metal).^ Symeon of Durham says
that Eadfrid's successor, " the venerable Ethel wold "
{sic) ordered it to be ornamented with gold and
decked with gems, and that the work was carried
out by Billfrid the anchorite.^ Who was he ?

Stubbs says that Billfrid is made a contemporary
of St. Balthere.^ Some of the relics of Balthere and
Billfrid were put in St. Cuthberht's coffin.* Billfrid
is no doubt the " Bilfrith presbyter" mentioned
among the anchorites in the Liber Vitae at Durham,
which also mentions a '* Balthere presbyter."
Symeon of Durham tells us he lived the life of an
anchorite at Tiningham and died in 757.^ Balthere
is probably the same as Baldred in Bishop Forbes'
Kalendars of the Scottish Church, 273 and 274.
He says that his church at Tiningham had the

* Thompson, op. cit. p. 16. ^ Symeon of Durham, H.D.E., ii. 12.

* Diet, of Chr. Biog., i- 3'^- '* Raine, Si. CiitJibei'ht, 79, note.

* Op. cit. ii, ch. 2,

A Similar Vack from thi-: Lindisfarne MS.

[ l^'o/. III. , facing p. 1 1 8.

BISHOP EADFRID 119

right of sanctuary, and that at Prestoune Kirk (sic)
some places near the church are still known as
St. Baldred's well and Baldred's whill (a pool or
eddy in the river). A rock which impeded the
navigation is said to have moved to the shore at
his bidding. It is still called the toitrsha or
scapha of St. Baldred. His cave is also shown
on the coast near Aldhame.^ " Both tradition and
the existence of a ruin on the Bass Rock," adds
Forbes, '' testify to the former habitation of an
island saint, who, known as Baldred or Balthere,
was honoured in Scotland on the 6th of March.
The legend in the Aberdeen Breviary is to that
effect."^ Alcuin has a long notice of him in his
poem de Pontificis Ecclesiae Eboracensis^ in which
he speaks of his living on the wild coast of
Northumbria —

" Inter monstra maris, scopulosas inter et undas,
Ut possit portiim portans attingere tutum
Est locus undoso circumdatus undique ponto,
Rupibus horrendis, praerupto et margine septus" —

battling with the hosts of fiends. He tells us how
he rescued a soul from them, and was also wont to
walk upon the sea like St. Peter.^ Symeon of Durham
gives his date in the calendar as 756.*

Let us now return to Eadfrid's career. Bede
dedicated his prose Life of St. Cuthberht to him in
the words: ''To the holy and most blessed father

^ Forbes, op. cit. 273. ^ lb.

^ Raine, Historians of the Church of York^ p. 388.

^ Hist. Reg.y ch. 42.

1 20 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Eadfrid, Bishop, and to all the Congregation of the
Brethren who serve Christ in the Island of Lindis-
farne : Baeda, your faithful fellow-servant, sendeth
greeting. " I n acknowledgment of his having written
this work at their bidding, the monks of Lindisfarne
promised that he should be duly remembered in
their prayers. He died in 721,^ and some of his
relics were preserved in St. Cuthberht's coffin.^

Symeon of Durham tells us that he rebuilt the
oratory at Fame where Cuthberht had lived his
solitary life. Cuthberht had been succeeded as
hermit there by Ethelwald. Bede calls him
Oidilwald in his history, and ^dilwald in his
biography of St. Cuthberht. He had lived some
years at Ripon and presently received the priest-
hood there, where Cuthberht was doubtless his
companion. Bede reports a story about him which
he had heard from Gudfrid, afterwards abbot of
the monastery at Lindisfarne. '* On one occasion,"
he says, ''he had visited the island with two of
the brethren to hear * the Reverend Father Oidil-
wald.' On their return to the mainland they were
overtaken by a storm, and there seemed no hope
of escape. On looking behind them they saw
the hermit on the island praying for them. The
storm thereupon abated until they had reached the
land and dragged the boat ashore, when it returned
again." ^ In his Life of St. Cuthberht, Bede states
that after many years of monastic life Oidilwald

^ Florence of Worcester, M.H.B., 541.

2 Raine's Cuthberht, 60, 79. ' H.E., v. i.

BISHOP EADFRID 121

had been found worthy "to ascend to the dignity
of a hermit's profession." Cuthberht's oratory had
gone to decay, and the planks of which It had been
built had been riven asunder. His successor stopped
up the chinks with straw or clay lest he should be
hindered from his devotions by the fierceness of the
weather, and he further nailed up a calfs hide in
that corner where he and St. Cuthberht were often
wont to pray.^ He remained on the island for
twelve years and died there in 699, but was buried
in the church at LIndlsfarne. His feast-day, accord-
ing to Raine, was 23rd March, but his biography
is entered in the Acta Sanctorum on 3rd March. ^
" Oldilwald presbyter" heads the list of hermits
in the Liber Vitae. Some of his bones and hair
were found In St. Cuthberht's coffin.^

He was succeeded as Hermit of Fame by
Felglld above named. For him Bishop Eadfrld
put the oratory into thorough repair from its
foundations. Felglld made a relic of the calfs skin
previously named, and cut it up into small pieces to
give away to the unfortunates who were ill. He is
said to have first tested it on himself, and having
soaked a piece of It, he washed his face with the
water, and thus cured a red tumour which had
troubled him for a long time and had latterly by
neglect become much worse. Bede claims to have
heard this from a devout priest at Jarrow whom
he knew, who had been allowed to feel the hermit's

^ op. cit. chap. xlvi. * Diet, of Chr. Biog.., ii. 228-9.

^ Raine, Cuthberht^ 79, note.

I 2 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

face through his little window and thus to testify to
the cure. He tells us Felgild was over seventy years
of age when he himself wrote Cuthberht's life/

Eadfrid was succeeded as Bishop at Lindisfarne
by Athelwald or ^^ilwald, who had been a servant
{minister) of St. Cuthberht,^ and had became
praepositus or prior of the Abbey of Melrose,
which office he filled when the anonymous Life of
Cuthberht was written. At the time Bede wrote
his prose Life he had become abbot,^ and still filled
that office when King Aldfrid visited the monastery
to hear Dryhthelm's visions.*

There is some difficulty about the date of his
succession to the see; it is generally put in 724,
but in that case it must have been vacant for
three years after the death of Eadfrid, who died in
721. Mr. Plummer seems to me to be right in
making him succeed on the death of his predecessor
in 721.^ As we have seen, he caused a beautiful
stone cross to be erected in memory of St. Cuthberht
with his own name upon it at Lindisfarne,^ and, as
we have also seen, he also caused a cover of gold
and jewels to be made for the Lindisfarne Gospels,
which is no longer in existence ; it had been re-
moved before the book came into Sir Robert
Cotton's collection.'''

Among Aldhelm's letters there is one addressed
to him by a certain yEthelwald,^ who some have

^ Bede, Vit. St. Cuth.^ xlvi. * Vit. Anon.^ par. 23.

' The book is dedicated to Bishop Eadfrid. * Bede, H.E.^ v. 12.

^ Op. cit. ii. 297. ' Vide ante^ iii. p. 104.

' Sym. of Durh.^ i. chap. xii. ^ Vide ante^ ii. p. 458.

DRYHTHELM THE ANCHORITE 123

thought was our Bishop. His remains were carried
about with those of St. Cuthberht, and were eventu-
ally placed in his shrine.^ He was remembered
among the saints, his day being 12th February.^
His episcopate, according to Symeon, lasted for
sixteen years. If this be correct, his death must
have occurred in 'j'^'j or 741, according as we fix
his consecration in 721 or 724, on which critical
matter, as we have seen, there is a difference between
the authorities. Symeon of Durham puts it in 740,
William of Malmesbury in 'J^i^, and Florence of
Worcester in 739. It would appear that in Eadfrid's
time the abbacy and bishopric of Lindisfarne had
ceased to be held by the same person, for Bede tells
us that '' Gudfrid, a venerable servant and priest of
Christ," who presided over the brethren at Lindis-
farne, where he was educated, told him a story
about Fame which he repeats.^

We will now devote some paragraphs to
Dryhthelm and his famous visions.

Bede says of him* that he was the head of a
family i^pater-familias), living in a district of the
Northumbrians which is called Incunengingum
(doubtless Cunningham, situated in the south of
Scotland, where the Abbey of Melrose had posses-
sions at a later time^), and that he and his house-
hold led a religious life. Having fallen sick, he
grew worse and worse and presently died at night-

^ Raine's Cuthberht^ 79. ^ fj^E.^ ed. Smith, p. 197, note 30.

» Bede, H.E., v. i. ^ lb. v. 12.

* See Acta Sanctoru7n^ 2nd February, 604, 606, and 897 ; Did. of
Chr. Biog.^ ii. 230. See Liber de Melrose^ i. 72-74.

1 24 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

fall, but early in the morning he came to life again
and suddenly sat up, on which those who had sat
by him weeping, fled in terror, only his wife remain-
ing, although in great fear. He bade her be
comforted, for he had now risen again from the
death which had held him, and had been permitted
to live again among men, but his subsequent life
was to be very different from his former one. He
presently rose and repaired to the oratory of the
little township where he lived (advillulae oratorium,
which the Saxon translation reads ''to ^aere
ciricean \aes tunes ") and continued to pray till day-
light, when he proceeded to divide his possessions
into three parts, one for his wife, a second for his
children, and a third to be distributed among the
poor. He then went to Melrose, the eldest daughter
of Lindisfarne (and at that time probably under the
same abbot), where he adopted the tonsure and re-
paired to "a secret dwelling," and there lived to the
end of his days in a state of great contrition. He
reported to those who sought him what he had seen
while out of the body.

He was silently conducted, he said, by one with
a shining countenance and a bright garment. As
he judged, they went to the north coast until
they came to a valley of great breadth and depth
and of infinite length. On one side of this were
dreadful flames, and on the other intolerable
snow and hail, which were flying and drifting
about. Both places were full of men's souls,
which were tossed from one side to the other by

DRYHTHELM^S VISION 125

the violence of the storm, thus alternating between
scorchincr heat and bitino- cold without intermission.
Dryhthelm thought this must be hell, but was told
it was not so. When they reached the farther end
of the valley it began to grow dusk and to be filled
with darkness, and it presently became so thick that
he could see nothing save the shape and garments
of him that led him. As they went on through the
shades of night there suddenly appeared frequent
globes of black flame, rising as it were out of a
great pit and falling back again into the same.
There he was left alone by his conductor, who
vanished while the black balls of fire flew hither and
thither, and he noticed that the tops of the flames
were filled with human souls which, like sparks in
smoke, were sometimes thrown up on high and
presently dropped down again, while an insufferable
stench pervaded the place.

After standing there a Ions: time much disturbed,
he heard behind him the voice of a most hideous
lamentation and of loud laughing, as of a rude
multitude insulting captured enemies, and as it
came nearer to him he saw a crowd of evil spirits
dragging the wailing and lamenting souls of five
human beings into the midst of the darkness.
While the devils laughed, their victims wept. One
was shorn like a clerk, another was a layman, and
a third a woman. The evil spirits dragged them
down into the midst of that burning pit, and as
they went deeper he could not distinguish between
the lamentation of the men and the laughing of the

1 26 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

devils — only a confused sound reached his ears.
Presently some of the dark spirits from the flaming
abyss rushed at him on all sides, and much distressed
him with their glaring eyes and the stinking fire
proceeding from their mouths and nostrils. They
threatened to lay hold of him with burning tongs,
which they held in their hands, yet they dared not
touch him.

Looking around for assistance in this blinding
darkness where he was surrounded by enemies,
there appeared behind him a star shining amidst the
gloom, which came rapidly towards him, growing
brighter by degrees, whereupon all the evil creatures
with their pincers dispersed. The bright light
proved to be his guide, who then proceeded to take
him, as it were, to the south-east, and conducted
him out of the darkness into an atmosphere of clear
light. He then saw a huge wall before him of
boundless length and height, in which there was no
door or window or stair. But as soon as they
reached the wall they were, as it were, lifted to the
top of it. Within was a vast and delightful field,
so full of fragrant flowers that its odour at once
dispersed the dreadful stench that had pervaded
the dark furnaces. . . . The light of the place
was greater than that of day or of the sun at
meridian height. In this field were innumerable
assemblies dressed in white, and many companies
seated and rejoicing. Dryhthelm thought this
must be heaven, but his conductor said it was
not so.

DRYHTHELM'S VISION 127

Having passed these mansions of blessed spirits
he saw a much more beautiful light, and also heard
most sweet voices of people singing, and a fragrance
far exceeding that he had noted before. As he
was hoping they might go in there, his guide
stopped and then turned round and led him back
again by the way they had come.

His conductor then explained what it all meant.
The valley with its two flanks of burning heat and
freezing cold was the place where souls were tried
and punished who had failed to confess and amend
the crimes they had committed, and had post-
poned repentance till the point of death, and thus
departed from the body. Those who, even at
death's door, confessed and repented, would all
reach heaven at the Day of Judgment, but many
would be relieved even before then by the prayers,
alms, and fasting of the living, and more especially
by the celebrating of Masses. The dark and stink-
ing pit, on the contrary, was the mouth of hell itself,
from which whosoever fell would never be delivered
throughout eternity. Similarly, the flowery meadow
he had seen was the place where those were put
who had done good works in the world, but not
sufficient to entitle them to heaven. Eventually,
however, they would come thither, and at the Day
of Judgment they would see Christ and enter into
the joys of His kingdom; while those who were
perfect in every deed, word, and thought would
go Immediately to that place of effulgent light and
sweet singing he had seen.

128 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

**As for you," he said, "who are returning to
live among men, you also, if you study to direct
your speech and behaviour in righteousness, shall
after death have a residence among these joyful
troops of blessed souls. When I left you for awhile,
it was to ascertain what was to be your fate."

Dryhthelm tells us he was not at all anxious to
leave that delightful place, but he dared not ask his
guide any more questions, and on a sudden, he knew
not how, he found himself again alive among men.^
In this translation I have almost entirely followed
the Rev. J. Stevenson, which I could not improve
upon.

Such was the story which Dryhthelm told, and
which he no doubt believed. Bede says he did
not tell his story to everybody, but only to those
who might profit from it. Such tales, as we have
seen, were the ready products of the excessive
asceticism of the anchorites, which produced a wild
imagination and fantastic dreams.

Near Dryhthelm's cell lived a monk named
Haemgils, eminent for his good works. *' He is
still living^ a solitary life," says Bede," in the island
of Ireland, supporting his declining age with coarse
bread and cold water." It was from him that the
latter heard the story, as told by Dryhthelm himself.
Haemgils is commemorated among the hermits in
the Liber Vitae,

Dryhthelm also reported his vision to the saintly

* Bede, H.E.^ v. 12. 2 /^ jj^ ^^i.

DRYHTHELM'S FAME 129

scholar, King Aldfrld, and it was at his request that
he entered the monastery of Melrose and adopted
the tonsure. At that time ^cTilwald or Ethelwald,
who afterwards became bishop of Lindisfarne, was
abbot there.

Dryhthelm was assigned a secluded place near
the monastery where he might indulge in continual
prayer. This was near the river, into which he
used often to go down and completely submerge
himself, remaining there as long as he could endure,
and meanwhile saying prayers. He sometimes
remained in the water up to his waist or his neck,
and when he came out he did not take off his cold
or frozen garments till they grew warm and dried
on his body. When in the winter those who be-
held the broken pieces of ice floating about, which
he had made when he took ''his dip," would
say, " It is wonderful, Brother Dryhthelm, that you
are able to bear such violent cold." He merely
answered, for he was a man of but simple and m-
different wits, " I have been still colder." Thus, says
Bede, he continued to subdue his aged body with
daily fasting till he was called away.^ MSS. D and
E of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle put Dryhthelm's
vision in 693. The Annales Xantenses^ which
contain some English entries, put it in 671 ; this,
says Plummer, is too early. Roger of Wendover
dates it in 699.^ It must have been some little time
before the death of Aldfrid (705), as the latter used

1 H.E.^ chap. xii. ^ Pertz, ii. 220.

^ Plummer, Bede^ ii. 294.
VOL. III. — 9

1 30 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

to go very often {saepissime) to hear Dryhthelm at
Melrose.

^Ifric wrote an Anglo - Saxon homily on
Dryhthelm.^ Alculn also wrote some lines in which
he versified part of the story of his vision. Here
is a sample of them : —

" Tunc mihi post tergum fulsit quasi Stella per umbras,
Quae magis accrescens properansque fugaverat hostes
Dux erat ille meus veniens cum luce repente ;
Cujus in adventu daemones alvi."^

His name is mentioned among those of the
anchorites in the Liber Vitae of Durham.

Plummer^ has an interesting note on this type
of vision, in which the principal feature is the
existence of a place of torment of freezing cold as
well as one of scorching heat. Bede himself ac-
cepted this view ; thus he writes : —

" Ignibus aeternae nigris loca plena gehennae,
Frigora mixta simul ferventibis algida flammis.

Non sentitur ibi quidquam nisi frigora, flammae
Foetor et ingenti complet putredine nares." ^

In another place Bede traces the notion to the
passage in Luke, where he says, " there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth," and glossed it
thus: ''The weeping comes from the heat, and the
gnashing of teeth from the cold, thus proving a
double hell {^gehenna\ one of great heat and the

* Ed. Thorpe, ii. 348.

2 " Carmen de Pont.," Historians of the Church of York^ Rolls
Series, vv. 953-955.

•Bede, Opp.^ i. pp. 101-102. Plummer, ii. 296.

* Bede, de Die Judicii^ Opera^ i. 101-102.

THE ABBEY OF CRAIKE 131

other of great cold."^ In one of Wulfstan's
homilies^ we read: ** There sometimes eyes weep
immoderately by reason of the heat of the furnace,
sometimes teeth chatter from the cold."

Plummer notes how Claudlo, in Measure for
Measure, III. i, says: —

" To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside
In thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice."

We will now turn to a small corner of our sub-
ject which receives no illumination from Bede, and
was overlooked by him. Lindisfarne had several
cells or subordinate houses in addition to Melrose :
St. Balthere's or Baldred's at Tiningham, Cununga-
ceastre or Chester-le-Street, Norham, Gainsford,
and Craike (near York). Craike is described as
a village on a commanding outlier of the Wolds,
which towers above the country formerly occupied
by the forest of Galtres. Mr. Thomas Arnold
has given some good reasons for treating it
as the abbey apostrophised by ^thelwulf in his
interesting poem *'de Abbatibus," which was
dedicated to Bishop Ecgberht (802-829). It is
not quite certain, however. In that poem he tells
us that when King Ecgfrid was killed by the Picts,
his son Aldfrid succeeded him, and was in turn
succeeded by his son Osred. His turbulent and
dissipated life I have previously described. Among
his evil deeds, he killed some of his great nobles and

* Bede on Luke xiii. 28.
2 Vide ed. Napier, 138.

1 3 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

drove others into monasteries/ One of them, says
yEthelwulf, was Eanmund,who abandoned the world
and adopted a religious life, and with some other
nobles entered a monastery. We are told in the
anonymous History of St. Cuthberht that King
Ecgfrid gave the latter the hill and three miles
round it at Craike, that he might have a residence
*' mansio " to stop at when he went to York or
returned from it.^ There apparently Eanmund
built a monastery for himself and his friends.
This was during the episcopate of Bishop Eadfrid,
{i.e. 698-721). The bishop gave him pious in-
structions and assigned a teacher to the community.
Eanmund now sent to St. Ecgberht, the famous
missionary who, as we have seen, converted the
Columban Church to orthodoxy, asking him to con-
secrate an altar for his monks ; he refers to the
altar as the sacred table of God [vtensa sacrata
Dei). Ecgberht sent him a kindly message, and
told him that he had seen in a vision a certain
hill on which Eanmund was to build a chapel.
The latter thereupon proceeded to build it and
to cover it with lead —

" Exterius tabulas perfundens tegmine plumbi " —

and in it was duly placed the altar. The bishop
now wrote him another letter, in which he con-
trasts the days when robbers occupied the hill, with
the better times in which they were then living,
i^thelwulf in his poem describes the life of the

^ Symeon of Durham^ ed. Arnold, i. p. 268.
2 Op. cit. xxxvii.

THE ARTIST-MONK ULTAN 133

monks there as marked by fervour and zeal, and
speaks of its parti-coloured statue of the Virgin,
with its white vesture/

He also refers to one of Eanmund's pupils, a
Scot, named Ultan, who was a priest and skilled
in illuminatinor books.^ He was also a zealous

o

teacher and lived to be an old man. Mr. Gammach
says he might be the Ultan or Ulton who had a
chapel in Valay in the Scottish Hebrides, and
whose arm, enclosed in a silver shrine, was served
by a distinguished member of the clan of the
O'Donnells in the island of Sanday, off the Mull
of Cantyre. This seems to me very doubtful, as
the name was a common one. I have suggested
that he may have been one of the illuminators of
the Lindisfarne Gospels. His death-day in the
Calendar w^as August the 8th, but Colgan puts
it on January the i7th.^ Miracles were performed
at his grave, while a portion of his relics are said
to have relieved a monk who was at death's door.

The description of it in the poem is picturesque.
We read that when his body had long been con-
sumed in the bowels of the earth, it pleased the
monks to raise their brother's ashes from the tomb,

* "Talibus exornata bonis in vestibus albis

Inclita, sed vario comptim, permixta colore,
A dextris Virgo et Genitrix adstare videtur,
Rectoris, caelos terras qui et numine portat"
(^thelwulf s poem, Sym. of Durham^ ed. Arnold, i. 273).

' " Comtis qui potuit notis ornare libellos

Atque apicum speciem viritim sic reddit amoenam,
Hac arte ut nuUus possit se aequare modernus
Scriptor " {ib. p. 274).

^ Diet, of Chr. Biog., iv. p. 1060.

134 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

and place them with washen bones in the interior
of a sepulchre built in the marble of the sacred
temple. The consecrated bones of the pious father
were brought forth, they were reft from the rich store
of the earth's bowels. Hence, when the bones
had been washed, and pure linen sheets were bear-
ing his remains beneath the light of day, suddenly
two birds approached and alighted upon the sheets.
Their backs glistened, awe-inspiring, with varied
tints ; chanting hymns with their beaks, they sweetly
sing in harmony to the delight of all, while with
their wings they veiled the skull of the Saint. So
all day long they ceased not to tend the holy bones,
and pour forth songs in beauteous strains, until the
light of the sun had drawn up all moisture and had
left the remains dry. (The translation of this
paragraph in the original baffled me, and I owe
it to the kindness of my cherished friend, Sir E.
Kenyon.)

We are next told of a certain priest, who was a
great benefactor of the House, named Fridegils, and
of a very pious brother named Cuicuin, probably
a Celt who was a skilful smith and a very holy
man, and who mingled the singing of psalms
with his noisy occupation.^

* " Ferrea qui domitans potuit formare metalla,
Diversisque modis sapiens incude subactum
Malleus in ferrum peditat stridente camino.

Hinc matutinis completis quam bene Psalmis
Continuo insonuit percussis cudo metallis
Malleus et vacuas volitans cum verberat auras.
Jam coenam fratrum peditans caldarius ornat "

(Arnold's Symeon of Durhain^ i. 276-7).

THE MONK MERCHDOF 135

When he died, a choir of angels came to escort
him to heaven, and ^thuin/ a monk, commended
his soul to God : —

. . . "animam Domino commendat in astra."

i^thelwulf then tells the quaint story of a certain
Merchdof, who had become a monk after living in
the world, and who, like Dryhthelm, when very ill,
claimed that he had temporarily died and come to
life again, and had seen in the other world his young
sons who had died in infancy but " after baptism."
They went to meet him and accompanied him
before the Judge at the Judgment. He asked
on his knees to be permitted to enter, when the
Judge reproached him for his former infidelity to his
wife, and bade him seek her and solicit her pardon.
He accordingly did so, but she instantly ordered
him away. She did this in strident terms. ^ Then
when he humiliated himself to the extreme point
of licking the ground with his tongue before her,
she relented so far as to ask that he might be

^ Mr. Arnold suggests that this may have been JE^3. (Etha)
the anchorite, whose death at Craike in 767 is mentioned in the
Historia Rggufn. The terminations of many Saxon names, he
justly adds, were variable. Thus Ceola for Ceolric, and Saexa,
Cutha, and Siga for Saexwulf, Cuthwine, and Sigwulf {op. cit. p. 277,
note a).

* " Cur tu stulte, fidem corruptus corpore, mente,
Irrita vota gerens, copulam conjungere natis
Ausus eras, thalamis maculans tua membra secundis,
Foedera cum manibus Domini per nomina summi
Ante diem mortis firmando gessit uterque,
Post mortem alterius maneat quod criminis expers ?
Obstruso tacuit non laeti pectoris ore"

(Arnold's Sy?neon of Durham^ p. 279).

136 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

sent to the flames of purgatory. At the entreaty
of her children, however, she at length consented to
his soul returning again to the body in order to do
its penance on earth rather than in that danger-
ous place. His spirit accordingly returned to his
body again.

"Pervenit ad corpus, cunctis mirantibus ilium
Vivere post mortem ! . . ."

He now turned over an entirely new leaf, led a
most penitential life, and died a good death.^ The
extraordinary part of all this is that the whole
narrative was purely a subjective delusion, and that
the sinner in telling the story should make such
a public confession of his previously disguised
peccadilloes to his very human wife. So much for
some of the early inmates at Craike.

Meanwhile, Eanmund, the founder of the
monastery, died, and the brethren buried him inside
the church. He is mentioned in the Liber Vitae
among the abbots.

Eorpwine was chosen as abbot in his place.
The poet speaks of him in high terms as an
excellent priest, a diligent scholar, a prudent and
strenuous administrator, indulgent to others but
severe on himself. His name also occurs thus among
the abbots in the Liber Vitae — " Eorpuini pbr''

I do not propose to carry the history of these

^ " Cumque suis medicans frater cataplasma salutis
Vulneribus fecit, purgatus corpora linquit
Atque suae comtus sponsae penetralia comtae
Creditur ut laetus meruisset visere comta"

(Arnold's Symeon of Durham^ p. 279).

THE EXPULSION OF THE MONKS OF lONA 137

abbots any further, their later story being out of
the range of my present subject.

Let us therefore turn elsewhere. We saw how
Adamnan, the Abbot of lona, was expelled from
that monastery by the monks, who could not
tolerate his acceptance of the Roman tonsure and
the Roman method of celebrating Easter, and how he
went to Ireland and was there successful in causing
the Church of the Northern Irish to conform
to the orthodox practice, as that of the southern
province had previously done.^ Bede does not
mention the expulsion, but says he sailed to Ireland
to preach to the people, etc. He presently returned
to lona and earnestly inculcated the observance of the
Catholic Easter, but in vain. He died shortly after,
and before the next year came round; "for the
Divine goodness so ordained it that he who was a
great lover of peace and unity should be taken away
to everlastinor life so that he mio^ht not be obliged
on the return of Eastertide to have to face still more
discord with those who would not conform."^ The
feeling on the matter now became very strong, and
created a schism in the community at Lindisfarne, and
led to the appointment of rival abbots. For the first
time since the foundation of the abbey by Columba,
a monk of a strange family, and not a descendant of
Conall Gulban, and the tribe of the Saint, became
abbot, namely Conmael, son of Failbhe, of the tribe
of Airgialla in Ireland, who presided over the new
communion, and who died three years after and

^ Ante^ ii. 310 and 311. ' Bede^v. 15.

138 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

was succeeded by Ceode, bishop of lona, who died
in 712, and he by Dorbeni, who died on the 28th
October 713. All this went on while the other and
more powerful section followed the old custom of
the Church under Duncadh/ and was patronised by
the Pictish King Nechtan.

Presently, however, moved by the persuasion
of Abbot Ceolfrid of Jarrow, who wrote him a
long letter, Nechtan changed his view and sided
with the Roman party. He then called upon
the others to conform too. This was apparently
obeyed by the various monasteries among Nechtan's
people, except the larger part of the community itself
at lona. The King then proceeded to expel them,
and they fled beyond Drumalban (the great moun-
tain barrier of central Scotland known as " the
Mounth "), where the various communities among the
Northern Picts also refused to conform. This con-
version was in 710.^ Six years later St. Ecgberht
came from Ireland (where he had been living a life
of great asceticism)^ with the purpose and intention
of healing the schism. According to Bede, he was
welcomed even by the schismatics. He was an
agreeable preacher and acted consistently with
his preaching, and was willingly heard by all and
presently won them over. "The monks of Hii,"
says Bede, " by the instruction of Ecgberht, adopted

* Skene's Celtic Scotland^ \\. 175. ' Vide ante^ ii. 316.

• Plummer says he is called " Ichtbricht Epscop" in an Irish
document containing an account of a Synod at Birra (Parsonstown)
in which the so-called " Cain Adamnam " (Law of Adomnain) was
promulgated. It was held in 696 (see Plummer, Bede^ ii. 285).

ST. ECGBERHT AT lOiNA 139

the Catholic rites under Abbot Duncadh, about
eighty years after they had sent Bishop Aidan to
preach to the nation of the Angles."^ This was
in 716. The conversion was not complete, how-
ever, for Tighernach, who specially mentions Abbot
Duncadh's adhesion, adds that " Faelchu Mac
Dorbeni took the chair of Columba in his eighty-
seventh year, on Saturday, August the 29th, 716."
This old gentleman doubtless presided over the
ultra-conservatives among the monks. Tighernach
records the death of Abbot Duncadh in the following
year. On his death Faelchu became sole abbot, and
thus the schism still continued. Thereupon we read
that in 717 King Nechtan drove the whole family
of lona across Drumalban. This brought to an
end the primacy of lona over the churches and
monasteries of the Southern Picts.^

St. Ecgberht died at lona on Easter Day (April
24th), 729, after performing the solemnity of
the Mass, ''and thus he finished (or rather never
ceased to celebrate), with our Lord, the Apostles,
and the other citizens of heaven, the joy of that
greatest festival which he had begun with the
brethren whom he had converted to the grace of
unity." ^

Leaving the diocese of Lindisfarne and the
neighbouring districts of Scotland, let us now turn
to Hexham. On the death of St. Wilfrid in 709 he
was succeeded as bishop there by his confidential

* Bede^ V. 9, 22. * Skene's Celtic Scotland^ ii. 175-178.

' Bede^ v. 22.

1 40 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

friend Acca, who had already been its abbot by his
own appointment, and whom he had already pointed
out as the successor he should like to follow him
as bishop. He had been brought up and in-
structed under Bishop Bosa at York, and accom-
panied Wilfrid on his journey to Friesland and
then to Rome, where they lived together for a
considerable time. "There he learnt many things
concerning the government of the Holy Church,
which he could not have learnt at home." On
their return in 705 Wilfrid confided to him an
account of the vision he claimed to have seen at
Meaux. When passing through Canterbury on his
way to Northumbria, Acca took with him a certain
Maban (who had learnt Church music from the
disciples of St. Gregory), and whose name points
him out as a Welshman. His function was to
teach Gregorian music at Hexham, and Acca kept
him there twelve years. Bede says he was instructed
to teach chanting and to introduce new ecclesiastical
chants at Hexham.^ Acca himself, according to
Bede, was an expert singer, as well as a scholar.^

He greatly adorned and enlarged his church,
and procured relics of the apostles and martyrs
to enrich it in order to sanctify the altars in
the various chapels {portici) which girdled its

^ Bede, v. 20.

^ Richard of Hexham exalts him in a number of superlatives
thus : " Sanctus Acca, presbyter, vir strenuissirnus^ coram Deo et
hominibus magnificus, cantator peritissiinus, in Uteris sacris doctis-
simus, in Catholicaefidei confessione castissi?nus,inecclesiasticaequoque
institutionis regulis solertissitnus" {Church of Hexham, 5 and 32).

BISHOP ACCA 141

walls. He doubtless completed the three churches
dedicated to SS. Mary, Peter, and Michael, which
Wilfrid had begun. The last one was in memory
of the Saint who visited Wilfrid at Meaux.^ '' He
also collected the histories of the sufferings of the
martyrs, with other coexistent writings, and built
a large and noble library, and brought together
suitable holy vessels, lights," etc.^

He was most observant in the rules of eccles-
iastical institutions, '* nor will he ever indeed
cease being so," says Bede, '* till he shall receive
the rewards of his pious devotion." This phrase
shows he was still bishop when Bede wrote his
history in 731.

In the year 732 he retired from his see.'
What was the actual reason for this no one
knows. His character and reputation will not
allow the supposition that he was guilty of any
misconduct. Prior Richard suggests that he
went from Hexham to re-establish the see at
Whitherne (which was restored about this time),
and which I think very probable.* Raine sug-

^ Richard of Hexhain^ xxxiii. 1 8. * /^. p. 31.

^ lb. p. 34. In MSS. D, E, and F of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
this is dated in 733.

* Richard of Hexha??i, p. 35. According to Bishop Forbes we
have, in the Scottish Kalendar of Dempster, under the date Aup^ust 6,
the entry : " In Galloway, the day of ' Blessed Acta ' {sic\ Bishop of
Candida Casa," while in that of Camerarius we read : " On January 16 :
Blessed Accas, Actas, Areas, Bishop of Hexham in England, and of
Candida Casa in Scotland." Skene, having regard to the dedica-
tion of one of its churches, says that he may have founded one of
the early ecclesiastical settlements at St. Andrews (Forbes,
Kalendar of Scottish Saints^ 261).

142 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

gests that it may have been from old age that
he withdrew. It is significant, however, that his
retirement and that of King Ceolwulf should be
mentioned in the same paragraph in the supple-
ment to Bede. Mr. Raine says very truly that if
Acca had left Hexham in disgrace he would not
surely have been regarded as a saint and with so
much veneration, and the brethren of that monas-
tery would not have allowed his bones to remain
in their monastery. Stubbs connects his departure
with the metropolitan jurisdiction of Ecgberht at
York, then recently enacted.

Symeon of Durham says he died on the 19th of
September 740 ; ^ Professor Stubbs says on October
the 20th, 740.^ His death therefore took place
some years after he had ceased to be bishop,and his
successor, Fruidberht, or Fridberht, was consecrated
in 735,^ so that he clearly did not recover his see.*

The best testimony to his character and gifts is
to be found in the fact that he was such a close
friend of Bede.*^

» Hist. Reg., ch. 36. « Diet. ofChr. Biog., i. 16.

^ Plummer's Bede, \. 360.

* The church of AycHffe, in Durham, is apparently dedicated to
him or to St. Andrew. See Miss Arnold Foster, Studies in Church
Dedications, iii. 38.

* Bede styles him "carissime" {Opp., i. 202); " dilectissime"
{ib. i. 204; viii. 265; x. 2); "dilectissime antistitum" (i. 198;
viii. 78 and 263); "amantissime antistes " (vii. 2); "aman-
tissime pontificum" (viii, 162); " dilectissime et desiderantissime
omnium qui in terris morantur antistitum " (vii. 369) ; " sancte
antistes" (i. 314); " reverendissime antistes" (viii. 360); "tua
dulcissima sanctitas " (x. 268). He addresses his letters to
him as "Domino in Christo dilectissimo" (i. 198); "Domino
. . . nimium desiderantissimo " (x. 268); "Domino beatissimo et

BISHOP ACCA 143

It was by the persuasion of Acca that ^ddi
wrote the life of their common master, St. Wilfrid,
and the book itself was dedicated jointly to Acca
and Tatberht, Abbot of Ripon, and the brethren
there/ A greater proof of his fame and character
is the fact that Bede should have dedicated
more than one of his own works to him, among
others the Hexameron, which, as Stubbs says,
seems to show they had been friends since 709.^

He also dedicated to him the hymn on the
Day of Judgment, sometimes attributed to Alcuin.
The concluding lines cited by Plummer are con-
clusive : —

" En tua jussa sequens cecini tibi carmina flendi,
Tu tua fac promissa, precor, sermone fideli
Commmendans precibus Christo modo, meque canentem.
Vive Deo felix, et die, vale, fratribus almis
Acca pater, trepidi et pavidi reminiscere servi
Meque tuis Christo precibus commenda benignis." ^

The dedication of Bede's De Templo presents an
ambiguity, since while it is commended to Acca
in the Merton MS. ; in MS. Phillips, 9428, it is

intima semper caritate venerando" (i. 203). Plummer, ii. p. 329.
Acca, on the other hand, in the only letter which he wrote
to Bede, which has been preserved, addresses him in turn as
" dilectissime" (x. 267). As Mr. Plummer (from whom I have bor-
rowed this note) says: "These contrasts illustrate the confusion
existing in the Latin of this period between the active and passive
participles " (Plummer, ii. 329).

^ See Historians of the Church of York, p. i.

" He also dedicated to him Commentaries on Genesis, Samuel,

Ezra, Nehemiah, Mark, Luke, the Acts, the tracts de mansionibus

filioru7n Israel and De eo quod ait Isaias^ etc. ; all of which were

written at his instance. Plummer's Bede^ i. xlix., note 2 ; Diet, of

Chr. Biog.^ i. 16.

^ Plummer, Bede^ i. cliii and cliv.

1 44 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

dedicated to Nothelm.^ Bede also acknowledged
his obligations to him for materials supplied for his
Ecclesiastical History?

One letter, as I have said, is extant written by
him to Bede, whom he addresses as '' Reverendissimo
in Christo fratri et consacerdote Bedae, presbytero"
In this he presses him to complete his commentaries
on Mark by undertaking those on Luke also. He
also quotes in it from one or two classical writers,
as well as from the Latin Fathers SS. Augustine
and Ambrose, and ends by pressing his friend
when he had done Mark to write on the first
two Gospels, and, inter alia, quotes a depressing
but philosophic phrase, ^^ Nihil est dictum quod non
sit dictum priusT^ In his reply, in which he
consents to do what his friend wishes, Bede speaks
of himself as being Acca's scribe (dictator^ notary,
and librarian.

Acca was buried in the cemetery at Hexham,
near the wall at the east end. Prior Richard says
*' in secretarium," i.e. in the sanctuary in which the
high altar stood.*

Two crosses of stone, wondrously carved, one at
his head and the other at his feet, marked his grave,
of which one, which was placed at the head, bore an
inscription stating he was buried there.^

^ Plummer, Bede, i. xlix, note 2.

^ H.E., iii, 13 ; iv. 14 ; see Diet, of Chr. Biog., i. 16.

^ Richard of Hexham, 33 and 34, note.

* Symeon, or his interpoiator, however, says : " Corpus vero ejus
ad orie?itatem plagain extra parietetn ecclesiae Haugtistaldensis"
(ed. Arnold, ii. 33).

'^ lb.

tk.k

i0i

JIlilBtjiJTiilOTij

mi

^fe^

The Acca Cross.

[ yoL III. , /achig p. 144.

BISHOP ACCA'S CROSS 145

It has been generally accepted, and seems
hardly doubtful, that one of these two stones is the
one which was found when the chancel of the
present church was built. '' If beauty of design
and execution would prove its identity, we may
safely say it is the same. Three of the sides are
sculptured, and the fourth has borne an inscription,
which is completely obliterated. A vine throws its
fruit and tendrils over the stone in beautiful and
delicate luxuriance. A large portion of a similar
cross, which may have been its companion, forms
the lintel of a door at Dilston." ^

Bishop Browne, our best living authority on
our early crosses, has given a description of those
of Acca, which I shall take the liberty of appro-
priating. He says of the first-mentioned one that
it is the most beautiful of all the great crosses of
Northumbria. "It is," he goes on to say, "a
portion of the cross which stood at the head of
Bishop Acca's grave at Hexham. . . . The
massive fragment was found in excavating in the
churchyard at Hexham, along with another piece
of a shaft of a cross with a portion of the head
remaining. At Dilston, near Hexham, there was
long known to be a stone used as the lintel of a
doorway with similar sculpture. In the course of
time these three pieces of Anglian sculpture were
brought to Durham by the Reverend Wm. Green-
well, to whom the archaeological world owes so
much. Mr. C. C. Hodges discovered that this

^ Raine, Hexham^ xxxiv.
VOL. III. — 10

146 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

resemblance of ornament meant Identity, and saw
that the larger piece found in the churchyard
exactly fitted to the massive piece which had served
as a lintel. All that is now missing of the shaft of
the cross is a piece of about 4 feet long, and this
has been made in wood, with the top of the shaft
and the portion of the head of the cross set
on the top. Thus we have now the cross set
up, just as it was, wanting the pieces that have
not as yet been found. It was, when complete,
a monument on the same scale as the other great
crosses.

'* With the Bewcastle and Rush worth crosses one
thing pleased me much when I saw it all set up.
In the lowest of three great ovals on the left face
the tendrils interlace so as to form an equal armed
cross. . . . The face and two sides are covered
from top to bottom with beautiful scrolls and
bunches of grapes and tendrils. On the back it
was supposed the sculpture had all been chiselled
off; it was left bare and battered in appearance.
But when we came to examine it in all kinds of
lights at all hours of the day, and by very powerful
lights at night, we found to our delight that this
was the side on which the inscription had been.
Here and there we could read words, in letters 2 J
inches long. Across the very top of the shaft
*A . . . A,' evidently Acca, followed by ' sanctus
hujus ecclesiae' Two or three feet lower down we
read ' unigeniti fill Dei,' as though some profession
of Acca's faith was inscribed on his head-cross,

VCj

<fe?,

P

V ^

JA^

b-,^^^^.:

Cje'r

^ i

-J $.

^'Illl

'i li'P

Dktails oi- Acca's Cross.

[I'oL [[[., facing p. 146.

I

BISHOP ACCA 147

conceivably in connection with the record that for
some unexplained reason he was driven out of his
bishopric. . . . The cross which stood at the feet
is also, I believe, in existence under certain secular
foundations. It is said to be a continuous piece at
least 14 feet long." ^

The name of Acca is commemorated in the
Calendar on the 19th of February, and several
miracles are assigned to him. His remains were
twice translated, the first time by Alured or Alfred,
son of Westoue, sacrist of the church of Durham, in
the eleventh century. In the narrative of Symeon
of Durham, or his interpolator, we are told that
when the coffin was opened there was found on
his breast a wooden table in the shape of an
altar, made of two pieces of wood fastened together
with silver nails ; on it was sculptured the inscrip-
tion, ''Almae Trinitati, agiae Sophiae, Sanctae
Mariae."^ Some of the Saint's vesture was also
found, and was afterwards shown to the crowed to
be kissed.

His remains were again translated in 11 54 and
placed on the left of the altar, and eventually on
the altar of St. Michael in the south chapel.^ Their
last removal took place, according to a note in the
Cambridge MS. of Prior Richard, in 1240, when
some of the Saint's vestments were found in
wonderful preservation. Richard specially mentions

* Bishop Browne's Theodore and Wilfrith^ 257-261.

^ Hist. Reg.^ ed. Arnold, ii. p. 33.

^ Ailred of Rievaulx, De Sand. Ecc. Hagust.^ ed. Surtees, p. 191.

148 GOLDExN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

a linen face-cloth, chasuble, and silken tunic
{sudarmm lineti7n, et casula et tunica sericae).
These he tells us were removed from the coffin on
account of his sanctity, and so that they might
receive the devotions of those who came thither,
and were still exhibited in the church in his
day.^

In the register of R. de Segbrok, keeper of
Cuthberht's shrine at Durham, we find in the cata-
logue of relics there preserved " a piece of the
chasuble of St. Acca the Bishop," and **an ivory
casket with relics of St. Acca the Bishop, with
portions of his face-cloth and chasuble which were
In the ground for three hundred years, and the
bones of St. Acca."^

We will now say a few words to bring the story
of the abbeys of Jarrow and Monkwearmouth down
to the year 731. We saw how Huaetberht became
abbot there on 25th September 716, on the depart-
ure of Ceolfrld for Rome,^ and have reported the
letter of commendation which he gave to the latter
to take to Pope Gregory 11.^ His appointment was
confirmed by Bishop Acca.^ He was no doubt
known to the Pope, for we are told in Bede's
History of the Abbots that he had visited Rome in
the days of Pope Sergius (687-701) and had lived
there a considerable time, and had thus no doubt
largely increased his stores of learning. He was

1 See Richard of Hexham., ed. Surtees, p. 36, note.
' Raine's Ciiihberht, 123, 126, and 127.

* Bade, Hist. Abb.., 20. * See ante, ii. 273 and 274.

* Bede, Hist. Abb., 20.

ABBOT HU.ETBERHT 149

there in 701, for in another of Bede's works he
speaks of him and his companions thus : ''Anno ab
incarnatione septingentesimo primo indictione quarta-
decinia, fr aires nostri qui tunc fuere Romae,'' etc.-^

There he transcribed and thence brought away
with him whatever he considered necessary. He
had been a priest twelve years when elected abbot,
which puts his ordination in 704.^

Among the innumerable privileges of the
monastery which, says Bede, "he recovered by his
youthful energy and wisdom, there was one which
afforded the greatest pleasure and gratification to
all, namely, that he took up the bones of the Abbot
Eosterwine, which had been deposited in the
* porticus ' of the Church of the Blessed Apostle
Peter, and those of his former master Siegfrid,
which had been interred on the outside and south
of the sacristy, and having placed them both in one
shrine which had a division down the middle, he
deposited them within the church and near the
body of the Blessed Benedict {i.e. Benedict Biscop).
This he did on Siegfrid's birthday, i.e. the nth
of the Kalends of September (22nd August).
Witmaer, the venerable servant of Christ, having
died on the same day, was put in the grave from
which Siegfrid's remains had been taken." ^ Of
Witmaer, Bede says that he was skilled no less in
secular learning than in the Scriptures, and that he

* De Tevip. Rat.^ ch. 47 ; Plnmmer, Bede^ ii. 365.
^ Bede, op. cit. par. 18.
^ Bede, Vit. Abb.., par. 20.

I 50 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

made a donation for ever to the monastery of the
Blessed Peter the Apostle, which he then governed
(was he the Prior ?), consisting of the land of ten
families {i.e. ten hides), situated In the vlll called
Daltun, which he had himself received from King
Aldfrid. Dal ton-le- Dale is on the road from
Wearmouth to Easington.^

In the anonymous History of the Abbots a letter is
recorded which Pope Gregory 11. sent to him in reply
to his commendatory note to Ceolfrid. It is entirely
rhetorical and interlarded with Biblical quotations.^
Bede was very fond of him, and speaks of him in
affectionate terms. He dedicated his works In
Apocalysin and De Temp. Ratione to him, and
in his De Temp. Nat. he speaks of him as the
youthful Huaetberht, who on account of his love for
and his devotion to piety had been styled Eusebius ; ^
and he so calls him in the dedication of the two
works above named. It was under his abbacy that
Bede passed the latter part of his life, and he
probably outlived the historian several years, as is
shown by a letter written to him by St. Boniface,
and which has been dated in 744-747. In it
Boniface, who calls him Huaetberht, asks him to
send him some of the works of "the most wise
interpreter of the Scriptures, Beda the Monk,
who lately in your House of God shone like a
candle of the Church by his knowledge of the

1 Bede, Vit. Abb., par. 15. The text followed by Smith calls it
Daldun, which is a township in the parish of Dalton-le-Dale (Rev.
J. Stevenson's Translation of Bede, 615, note 4).

2 Plummer, i. 403. » Plummer's Bede, i. xiv. note 7.

BISHOP BOSA 151

Scriptures " [ijicon nuper m domo Dei apud vos
vice candelae ecclesiastice scientia scripturartim
fulsisse aMdivhmis)}

He is apparently mentioned twice among the
abbots in the Liber Vitae under the name of
Hucctbercht.

Let us now turn to York. We have seen how
on St. Wilfrid's expulsion from Northumbria in
678, when his diocese was divided, King Ecgfrid
and Archbishop Theodore appointed Bosa as his
successor at York.^ It is very remarkable, con-
sidering the importance of that see and the length
of time that Bosa held it, that Bede should have so
little to say about him. He mentions him as one
of the five bishops who were pupils of St. Hilda,
and that he was consecrated at York by Theodore,
and was present at the Council of the Nidd.
This is pretty nearly all we know of him. Alcuin
praises him highly in his poem on the Bishops of
York, where Bosa apparently organised the services
in his church on the principles of the monastic, or
at least the '* common" life.

"Vir, monachus, praesul, doctor moderatus, honestus,
Quern Divina sacris virtutum gratia sertis
Compserat, et multis fecit fulgescere donis.

Non terras victusque, domus, nummismata, vestes
Nee quicquam proprium sibimet jam vindicet ullus,
Omnia sed cunctis fierent communia semper."^

^ He also asks him to send him a bell {cloccam unam)^ and bids
him accept in return a chair or seat {lectisternia caprina ; Diimmler
glosses the former word by lecti opertoria ; Mon. Hist. Germ.^
Epistolaru7n iii. 348).

2 Bede^ iv. 12, and v. 24. * Raine, Historians of York, 374-5-

1 5 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

He was honoured as a confessor on the 13th of
March/ Some authors have made a mistake about
the date of his death, which they have put much too
early. He must have been Hving in 704, when
Pope John mentions him in the letter of commenda-
tion which St. Wilfrid brought back from Rome
with him,^ so that he could not have been dead
before that year. He probably died in 705, and was
succeeded by John, known as Saint John of Beverley.

In the anonymous life of that saint published
by Leland^ it is said that it was reported he was
born at the village of Harpham (near Driffield), of
noble parents, and that he was brought up under
Archbishop Theodore, who gave him the name of
John; he afterwards became a pupil of St. Hilda
at Whitby.* Raine says he was claimed by Oxford
as an alumnus, and his figure appeared as a doctor
in one of the old windows at University College,
and in another window at Salisbury Cathedral as
the first Master of Arts at Oxford.^ This is, of
course, mere fable, as there was no University at
Oxford till long after his day. He was famed for
his learning and as a preacher and teacher, notably
in scripture and history, and had a number of pupils,
among them being Bede, St. Siegfrid the deacon,
Abbots Berchthun and Herebald, and the younger
Wilfrid, whom he afterwards admitted to Holy
Orders. In his earlier days John lived an ascetic

^ Raine, Fasti Eb.^ i. 84.

2 See yEddi, liv. ; Richard of Hexham^ Surtees ed., 28 and 29, note.
' Coll.^ iii. 100. * Bedc^ iv. 21 [23].

* Did. of Chr. Biog.^ iii. 377.

SAINT JOHN OF BEVERLEY 153

life at a place called Erneshaw or Herneshalg.
Prior Richard says it was situated north of the
Tyne on a height overhanging the river. He else-
where adds that there was an oratory there dedicated
to St. Michael, which was appurtenant to Hexham
Abbey.^ Bede says it was situated in a retired
situation enclosed by a narrow wood and a trench,
and that it had a cemetery attached to it. The man
of God used to retire thither with some companions,
particularly in Lent, so that he might devote him-
self to undisturbed reading and prayer. On one
occasion he bade his companions find some poor
person whom he might keep with him for a few
days by way of alms, as was his wont. They
brought a poor dumb boy, who had never spoken
a word, and who, according to Bede, had so much
scurf and scabs on his head that no hair ever grew
on it, but only some rough burrs. The good man
had a cottage made for him within the enclosure of
his dwelling where he might live, and he gave him
a daily allowance. On the second Sunday in Lent
he sent for him and told him to put his tongue out.
Holding him by the chin he made the sign of the
Cross over his tongue, and then told him to with-
draw it and try to say the Anglian word Gae, which,
says Bede, means *'Yes." The boy's tongue was
at once loosened and he did as he was told. He
then went through the alphabet with him, and also
bade him say long sentences, which he accordingly

^ See Richard of Hexham^ ed. Surtees, 15 ; he glosses the name
Erneshaw by the words Latiiie^ Mons aquilae.

154 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

did. The physician was then ordered to cure his
head, which he also succeeded in doing. The boy
acquired a good crop of hair, and then returned
home/ Bede says he heard the story from John's
friend. Abbot Berchthun. Raine, in his edition of
Richard of Hexham, identified the Herneshalg or
Erneshaw of the story with St. John's Lee (i.e.
St. John's meadow), which just talHes with the de-
scription and the alleged distance from Hexham ;
it has, further, always belonged to that see. It
may be that it was named not after the Arch-
bishop, but after St. John the Baptist, for
Reginald tells us that on the latter's viorll and natal
day a great number of the halt and sick used to repair
there. It is more probable that the Baptist had been
substituted for the Bishop in later times.^ St. John's
Lee is the very place, says Raine, for a hermit's cell,
and you think of what it was twelve centuries ago,
with the eagles swooping to their eyrie over the
solitary graveyard. He adds a caveat in regard
to Reginald's etymology, however, for Hernshaw
means a heron.^ There was a kind of religious
wake held on the 23rd and 24th of June there.

John was a prot6g6 of King Aldfrid, and it was
probably through his influence that he was made
Bishop of Hexham on the death of Eata in 685,
and was presently translated to York. He is
described as having been diligent in ruling the
monasteries, attending to the poor and consecrating
churches, and was a favourite with King Osred and

1 Bede^ v. 2. ^ Op. cit. pp. 17 and 18. ^ Op. cit. 15 and 16, Note Z.

SAINT JOHN OF BEVERLEY 155

his nobles. During his wanderings in the East
Riding he observed a spot called Deirewald (i.e.
Sylva Deirorum), where wild forest and waters
were interspersed with rich pasture lands, and
which in later times was known as Beverley,
from the beavers which abounded in the waters of
the river Hull. There was a little church there dedi-
cated to St. John the Evangelist, which he acquired
and made into the nucleus of a monastery, in which
he put some monks. He rebuilt the presbytery
of this church and also an oratory dedicated to
St. Martin to the south of it, where he settled some
nuns. The community he founded consisted of
seven priests and seven other clerics.^ " John," says
the same author, "acquired the manor of Ridinges for
his monasteries and built the church of St. Nicholas
on his property there. He also gave the same
monastery, lands at Middleton, Welwik, Bilton,
and Patrinorton."^

Bede tells us more than one interesting miracu-
lous story about the bishop. One of these, which
occurred at the monastery of Wetadun (now Watton,
in the East Riding), I have already described.
Another, which was reported to him by Berchthun,
who became the first Abbot of Beverley, states that
about two miles from Beverley there lived a gesyth
or lord (comes) called Puch, who had a manor there.
The anonymous biographer and Folcard say this was
at South Burton (it is now called Bishop's Burton).

^ Anon. Life in Leland, op. cit. iii. 100.
^ Leland, op. cit. iii. loi.

156 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Puch's wife had languished from an acute disease
for forty years, and for three weeks it had not been
possible to remove her from her bed. The bishop
was invited by her husband to consecrate a church or
chapel near his house (probably a domestic chapel).
He asked him to dine with him on the occasion,
but the latter declined, saying he must return to the
monastery. Puch pressed him to do so, and said
he would give alms to the poor if he would conde-
scend to break his fast under his roof. Berchthun
also urged him to do so, saying he would also
give some alms if he would dine with the great
man and give his blessing. The bishop having
after some further demur consented, sent some
holy water (which he had consecrated for the dedi-
cation of the church by one of his clergy) to the sick
woman, with injunctions that she was to drink some
of it, and rub the place where the pain was felt with
the rest. We are told she immediately recovered
and became strong, and then presented the cup to
his companions and served them with drink during
the dinner — thus following, says Bede, the example
of Peter's mother-in-law as told in Matthew viii. 14.^
Mr. Plummer, in commenting on this miracle,
has a note on the curious early rule that a man
might redeem his fast {his fasten aliesan, as the
Anglo-Saxon version has it), i.e. get rid of the
penalty of going through it, by giving alms.^

^ Bede^ v. 4,

2 See Bede's Penitential ; Haddan and Stubbs, iii. ;3,2>3 ^rid 334 ;
Plummer, ii. 276.

SAINT JOHN OF BEVERLEY 157

Puch's daughter, Yolfrida, became a nun at
Beverley and died on the 3rd of the Ides of March
742, and her remains were deposited in the monas-
tery there. The Anon. Life in Leland also says
that Puch gave the manor of Walkington with his
daughter to Beverley,^ and that Addi, the lord of
the manor of North Burton, also gave that manor
with the advowson of its church to the same
church. "Chapels {Capellae) were afterwards built
at Lekingfeld and Scorburgh, which afterwards
became parish churches." King Osred similarly
gave the manor of Dalton, in Yorkshire, where he
had a royal villa, to this same foundation.^

On another occasion, according to Bede, the
bishop, being called in to dedicate Addis new
church, was asked by him to visit one of his servants
who was very ill and had lost the use of his limbs ;
the coffin, indeed, to bury him in, had already been
provided. Addi urged that the man's life was of
great consequence to him, adding that if the bishop
would only put his hands on him he would be cured.
John thereupon went in to see him, and found
him with his coffin beside him and all the people
sorrowing around. He prayed and blessed him.
Presently when they were at dinner the young man
sent to beg for a cup of wine, as he was thirsty.
The nobleman sent him one blessed by the bishop,
whereupon he at once got up and dressed himself,
and went in to salute the latter, saying he would
also like to eat and be merry with them. He did

^ Leland, op. cit. iii. 100. "^ lb. loi.

1 5 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

so, and lived for many years afterwards. The
abbot (who reported it) confessed that the miracle
had not taken place in his presence, and he had only
heard of it ! ! ! ^

Bede also tells of another miracle performed on
Herebald, one of the bishop's household (who
became Prior of Tynemouth, a post he held in
731, when he himself was writing his history), and
to which Herebald himself was wont to testify.
His story was that in the prime of youth he lived
among the clergy and applied himself to reading
and singing, but had not altogether given up his
boyish and frivolous ways. He and his com-
panions, when they -were travelling with their master
[i.e. John), came to a flat and open road, well
adapted for racing their horses. The young men
of the party, especially the laymen, asked the bishop
to let them have a gallop to test the quality of their
horses. At first he refused, saying it was an idle
pastime, but under pressure consented on condition
that Herebald should have no part in the trial.
The latter begged hard that he too might have
permission in order to test a horse which had been
a present from the bishop himself, but he would not
consent. Presently when the rest had ridden to
and fro several times he became excited, and in
spite of the bishop's wish, mixed with them and
began to ride at full speed, at which John was
S^reatly grieved. Suddenly his horse took a great
leap over a hollow place in the course, and he fell

* Bedgj V. 5.

SAINT JOHN OF BEVERLEY 159

off and lost his senses, as if he were dead, " it having
been ordained by Divine providence that In punish-
ment of his wilfulness his head should strike the
only stone existing in that place, and which was
disguised by the turf." He broke his thumb and
the joints of his skull were loosened (infracto pollice
capitis quoque jtmctura solveretur). As he could
not be moved they stretched a tent over him
(tetenderunt ibidem papilionem in quo jacerem).
He thus lay unconscious from the seventh hour of
the day till the evening, when he revived a little
and was then carried home by his companions and
lay speechless all night, vomiting blood, because
his intestines were ruptured by his fall (eo quod et
interanea essent ruendo convulsa). The bishop was
much grieved, for he greatly loved the boy, and
Instead of spending the night with his clergy he sat
watching and praying alone, imploring the Divine
Goodness for his recovery. Coming to him early
in the morning he said a prayer over him, called
him by his name, and (as it were waking him out
of a heavy sleep) asked him whether he knew who
was speaking to him. Herebald replied, " I do, it
is my beloved bishop." "Can you live.'^" said he.
He answered, " I may through your prayers, if it
shall so please God."

The bishop then laid his hand on his head with
the words of blessing and went to prayers, and when
he presently returned he found his stricken young
friend sitting up and able to talk. Being admonished
by Divine instinct, the bishop asked him If he had

1 60 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

ever been baptized. Herebald told him he knew
he had, and named the priest who had officiated.
The bishop then said he had known the priest in
question. He was a man, he said, who could not, on
account of his dulness of understanding, learn the
ministry of catechising and baptizing, and that he
ought to have been inhibited from his presumptuous
exercise of the ministry which he could not rightly
perform. He thereupon catechised Herebald afresh,
and blew upon his face (i.e. practised the rite of ex-
sufflation), which formed a part of every baptismal
service. Herebald presently found himself better.
John also summoned the surgeon and bade him bind
up his skull where it had been loosened, and soon
he was so much recovered that he went for a ride
on horseback and travelled with the bishop to
another place, and when he had quite recovered he
was sprinkled with the life-giving water.^

The view here proclaimed and acted upon by
Bishop John was clearly quite unorthodox according
to the theories of the Western Church, which did
not permit re-baptism, even if the baptizing person
was a heretic or schismatic. On this Bede himself
is positive, and the view was maintained very
definitely by Pope Zacharias in a letter he wrote
to St. Boniface in 746, rebuking him for re-baptizing
persons in a case where an ignorant priest had
baptized people with the blundered formula, '' Baptizo
te in nomine patria et Jilia et Spiritus Sancti.''^

^ Bede, v. chap. 6.

2 Mo?i. Germ. Hist., iii. Ep. p. 338 ; see Plummer, op. cit. ii. 277.

SAINT JOHN OF BEVERLEY i6i

William of Malmesbury has a miracle story of
another kind, in which John had a part. He says
the people of Beverley used sometimes to have
an exhibition of the fiercest bulls (perhaps a bull-
baiting was meant). The bulls were bound with
many knotted cords and dragged along with the
greatest difficulty by very strong men. On one
occasion they escaped and made their way into the
cemetery of the monastery, whereupon they became
as quiet as sheep.^

John's biographer Folcard reports of him
that he was once the guest of King Osred,
when the butler Brithred was told to fill up three
jars, one with wine, a second with milk, and the
third with beer. When the drink ran short, our
Saint, as at the marriage at Cana, replenished the
liquor by blessing the vessels.^ On another occasion,
when staying at Beverley with Abbot Berchthun,
he took a bath, after which the abbot asked him
if he would have a glass of wine. Brithred the
butler broke the glass accidentally as he was
carrying it, but the wine by the Saint's interven-
tion did not run away.^ On another occasion he is
reported to have restored a boy to life by the use of
chrism.^ It was said that John used sometimes to
visit the church of St. Michael at York, and while
there a dove, as in the case of St. Gregory, visited
him and settled on his head.

^ Gest. Po?ti.^ iii. i lo.

2 Raine's Historians of York^ i. 254and255.

^ lb. 255. ^ Id. 257-8.

VOL. HI. — II

1 62 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Bede tells us that when he was an old man,
being unable to govern his diocese properly, John
ordained his priest (that is, his chaplain) Wilfrid, to
the see, which was an irregular practice, and then
retired to his own foundation of Beverley, where he
died in 721 a.d., and where he was buried in the
porticus or chapel of St. Peter. ^ His festival was
observed at Beverley on the 7th May, which is his
day in the York Missal. Florence of Worcester
also says he died on that day.^

Bale ^ attributes homilies and epistles to him,
namely, '* Pro Luca exponendo" (lib. i.), ** Homeliae
Evangeliorum " (lib. i.), '' Ad Hyldam Abbatissam "
(lib. i.), *'Ad Herebaldum Discipulum " (Epist. i.),
** Ad Audoenum et Bertinum Epist. ii., etc."*

John after his death became the patron saint of
Beverley, and is universally known as St. John of
Beverley ; he was, in fact, one of the principal
saints in the north of England, and was officially
canonised by Pope Benedict ix. in 1037.

The bishop's remains were placed in a feretory
of wood, beautifully carved.^ They remained intact
until the Danish invasion, when the monastery
at Beverley, like all others in northern England,
was destroyed, together, says the anonymous bio-
grapher, with the books and all the ornaments there,
and it remained desolate for three years, when the
priests and clerics returned and rebuilt it. They had

* Rede, op. cit. v. 6. ' Plummer, ii. 273 ; M.H.B., p. 541.

' Scrr. Brit. Cent.^ i. 89. * Raine, Diet, of Chr. Biog., iii. 377.

« lb. 378.

SAINT JOHN OF BEVERLEY 163

apparently preserved the Saint's remains, which were
translated by Archbishop yElfric on the 8th of the
Kalends of November 1037, in the reign of Edward
the Confessor. The bishop's ring and some
fragments of the Gospels were found in the coffin
and were afterwards put in his reliquary.^ At the
same time the remains of St. Berchthun were also
translated. He had been his deacon and became
the first abbot of Beverley.

St. John's new shrine was highly decorated with
silver and precious stones. In 11 87 the monastery
was again burnt down. In consequence a new
shrine had to be made, to which the Saint's remains
were moved in 1198. These were discovered in
1664 under a marble stone at the entrance to the
quire. A leaden plate with an inscription was
found with them. The remains were again seen
in 1736.^

His shrine was said to possess great curative
powers, and a sweet oil flowed from his tomb ; at
other times an effulgent light shone over it.^

The number of miracles recorded as having been
performed by his relics are quite phenomenal, and
his tomb was visited by a long array of English
kings. The first who is recorded to have done so
was Athelstan. One of the writers who reported
John's miracles says that that King when on his
campaign to Scotland met many people in Lindsey,
and hearing how they had been cured by St.

^ Ano7t. Life in Leland, iii. 102.

2 Raine, Diet, of Chr. Biog., iii. 378. 3 /^^ 278.

1 64 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

John, sent his army to Beverley to get his
blessing. He himself took a knife from its
sheath {extrahens cultellum suum de vagina) and
placed it on the altar. He proposed to handsomely
redeem it if he returned successfully, and bore-
away with him the Saint's banner to fight under.
When the Scots were in retreat and had crossed
a ford, John is said to have appeared to the King
in a dream and bade him follow them over the
river and conquer, which he did. Having beaten
them, he subjected them to tribute. At Dunbar
he asked for a sign from heaven of his impend-
ing victory, and it was granted him, for, striking
a hard stone with his sword, he clave it as if it
were butter, ''as may still be seen," says our
author.

On his return, Athelstan visited Beverley and
made an offering of his arms and of other gifts to St.
John, and also gave the place the right of sanctuary,
the limits of which were marked by four stone crosses :
one of which was at Melescroft, now Molescroft,
about a mile from Beverley on the road to York.
He decreed that any one violating the sanctuary
within this limit was to pay a fine of eight pounds
of silver to the church. If within the three crosses
(marvellously carved, standing at the entrance of
Beverley), twenty-four pounds. If within the ceme-
tery of the church, seventy-four pounds. If within
the church itself, this last^ne was to be tripled. If,
lastly, within the chancel arch {infra arcus supra
introitum cancelli posit os), "the last penalty" was

SAINT JOHN OF BEVERLEY 165

to be exacted.^ According to our author, Athelstan
made over to the monastery, for the annual upkeep
of the clergy, the equivalent of the obligation of
providing hesterasfda, or a supply of fodder, for
the King's horses, which had been imposed on the
**coloni " (? farmers) in a large district in Yorkshire.
It involved a charge on each carucate in the
East Riding {i,e. the product of each plough, — ad
cultrum et vomerem) of four travas (?) of its fruits.
This had hitherto been levied on the district
bounded on one side by the Derwent, on another
by the Humber, and on a third by the North Sea.
''The district," he says, ''had anciently been called
Deira."^ The deed securing these privileges was
written in Anglo-Saxon.^

Athelstan also founded a College of Canons at
Beverley, named a town among the Scots after
St. John, and presented the church at Beverley
with lands at Brandesburton aud Lokington, and
decreed that it should be the capital of all the East
Riding.*

Several post-Conquest kings had dealings with
the place. Thus we are told by Ketel, who was one
of those who collected and published his miracles,
that Beverley and its sacred patrimony and right
of shelter were alone respected by William the
Conqueror when he ravaged Yorkshire, and that

^ Acta Miracula St. John ; Raine's Church Historians of York,
pp. 297-298.

^ Leland, Coll.^ iii. loi ; Raine's Church Historians of York, pp.
293-298.

^ Leland, Cot/., iii. loi. * lb. loi.

1 66 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

some soldiers, led by Thurstan, having incon-
tinently plundered it, the King made ample
amends.

A very notable personage who visited Beverley
and its shrine was Edward i., who in his Scottish
war took St. Wilfrid's and St. John's banners with
him/ and had them placed on a chariot on the
battlefield, whence the fight was known as the
Battle of the Standard.

Henry iv. and v. both visited the shrine. The
battle of Agincourt was, in fact, fought on the 25th
October, the day of the translation of St. John's
remains. The latter King attributed his victory
to the intercession of the Saint, and made a
pilgrimage with the Queen to Beverley. In con-
sequence, Archbishop Chichele ordered that the
Saint's deathday should in future be observed as a
''distinguished festival."^

Let us now tell one or two of the stories which
were current about the efficacy of the Saint's
intervention in curing human ills after his death.
Archbishop Gerald having visited Beverley, one of
his servants who was deaf and dumb was cured
while that prelate was saying mass. The arch-
bishop referred to the miracle in his sermon, when
a certain Anglian noble who was present told the

^ Richard of Hexham^ pp. 90, 91. He quotes two lines from a
poem written on the occasion by Sotevagina, the Archdeacon of
York, and involving a pun which run thus : —

^'' Dicitur a stando standardum^ qitod stetit illic
Militiae probitas vincere sive viori^
^ Diet, of Chr. Biog., iii. p. 378.

SAINT JOHN OF BEVERLEY 167

great man he must not think so highly of the
occurrence, for such miracles were common at
Beverley, and he urged him, therefore, to beware
of meddling with the privileges of the place. It
would seem that the archbishop was an austere
person and had been unduly exacting in his
discipline. Other stories show that in order to
exact ransom from prisoners it was the fashion at
this time to torture them and even to take out
their teeth. Prayers to St. John are reported to
have caused the bonds of captives to be broken,
and to have helped them to secure the shelter of
the abbey's ** sanctuary precincts."

Another story shows that it was the custom
for certain criminals to be condemned to wear an
iron girdle round their waist as a penance. One
such had been ordered to wear it for killing his
brother, and had had it on a year. When praying
for St. John's help, it burst asunder, and the
narrator says he heard it crack. On another
occasion a rustic from Lindsey was troubled with
a huge tumour or growth, which entirely deformed
him. It being beyond the skill of the wise women
(sapientibus muliebris) whom he consulted, they
advised him to go to the shrine of some saint,
and St. John was chosen by lot. The writer claims
to have known the man.

On another occasion a ship was going from
Apulia to Rome, and was in peril from a storm.
An Englishman on board made the sailors pray
to St. John, who shared with St. Nicholas the

1 68 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

privilege of controlling the waves. They did so,
and being saved, made a collection for the Saint's
shrine.

Having told this story, the writer declared
he would describe no more miracles, for he was sick
at heart at the prosperity of the wicked in his
time, but he begs St. John to help him to eternal
life as a reward for his humble efforts to extol him
in his book. Others continued the role of story-
teller, however, after the dispirited Ketel was
weary.

Thus one tells how on a certain occasion, a
great drought having supervened in Yorkshire,
some of the canons from York went to Beverley
to ask for the Saint's help. They formed a great
procession, which perambulated the church with the
Saint's body. A storm of rain having come on, the
credit of it was given to St. John. On another
occasion an apoplectic Irishman was cured by the
shadow of the Saint's shrine falling on him. On
another, again, a scholar who visited Beverley fell
in love with a young lady and could not cure his
passion. He accordingly had recourse to the
Saint, who took away his evil desire. This was
Indeed a strong proof of the Saint's potency.

Again, a ship bound for Scotland was over-
taken by a storm, and some merchants on board
turned to St. John for help, who produced a calm.
One of them who meanwhile had a trance (velut in
exstasi positus) described a vision he had seen, in
which a troop of devils had determined to de-

SAINT JOHN OF BEVERLEY 169

stroy the vessel, but were driven away by a certain
bishop, who turned out to be St. John.

Another miracle is worth reporting as affording
a slde-ll^ht on old customs. We are told that on

o

a certain summer day a miracle play, represent-
ing Christ's resurrection, was being performed
Inside the wall of the cemetery of St. John's
church at Beverley, which was attended by a large
crowd of people. So great was the throng that
a large number of them, especially those of little
stature, could not see what was going on, so they
entered the church — some to pray and some to
look at the pictures, etc. Among them were a
number of boys, who soon found a door opening
on to a staircase by which they could mount to the
top and thence on to the roofs, and made their
way through the open windows In the turrets or by
holes in the glass of the windows, whence they
could see and hear the play. *' They thus imitated
Zaccheus," says our narrator, who was also a small
man and who climbed a tree the better to see
Christ. The watchmen having given chase after
the intruders, one of the boys tried to make his
way down by scaling the wall by the great cross, then
standing near the altar of St. Mary. One of the
stones, however, gave way, whereupon he fell on
the pavement and lay as if dead. The spectators, and
especially the boy's parents, were greatly grieved
and wept audibly, but by the help of the Saint he
was restored again and showed no sign of having
been hurt. Thus, says our writer, was the drama

1 70 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

of the resurrection re-enacted not only outside the
church but also inside.

I have made a selection from such among
the many miracles reported of St. John and his
remains, as seemed to me to have an additional
interest in illustrating manners and customs in old
days. The greater part of the rest are tedious beyond
measure, and relate miraculous cures of various
kinds ad nauseam, and other very trivial benefits
conferred on supplicants for the Saint's bounty.
All of them were useful, however, for pointing
certain morals in homilies and sermons. From them
the great stream of pilgrims might learn what a use-
ful friend the Saint could be to simple mortals if they
would only generously increase his income and that
of his great Minster at Beverley, and help his officers
to keep his fame alive in a suitable fashion. Such
shrines were multiplied all over the country ; some
were of greater and some of less importance, and
were believed to afford much more certain remedies
for the lame, the halt, and the blind than any
number of doctors or wise women. It is impos-
sible to understand early mediaeval history if we
ignore such stories. They formed the great staple
of popular literature, and best illustrate popular
thought and belief. It is really wonderful what
immense crowds and from how far and from what
a variety of places people came to a shrine so
famous as that of St. John of Beverley. Registers
of these visitors, with their dignity duly noted, were
carefully preserved, in which the habitat of each

BISHOP WILFRID THE YOUNGER 171

person cured was duly given. The larger number
came from Lincolnshire and the neighbouring
counties, to which Beverley was the most ac-
cessible shrine ; but they came also from remote
corners of the country. Their number was also
largely increased by those who sought sanctuary
at Beverley.

The Saint himself was universally known as
St. John of Beverley. Some lections are marked
in certain copies of Bede meant to be used on his
feast-day.^ Miss Forster mentions churches at
Aslackton, Harpham, Lee St. John, Salton, Scar-
rington, Whatton-in-the-Vale, and Wressle as
dedicated to him.^

John was succeeded as Bishop of York by
Wilfrid, called Wilfrid the younger ( Wilfer& seo
junga)^ and otherwise referred to as Wilfrid the
second. He was educated under Hilda at Whitby,*
and, according to Alcuin, had been *' vicedomnus "
(? prior) and "abbas" (or abbot) at York.^ It may
be that he was the "Wilfrid the Abbot" who was
the intimate friend of St. Guthlac, as reported
by Felix. He was, as we have seen, nominated
and consecrated as his successor at York by St.
John of Beverley. Alcuin in his poems mentions
his generous gifts to the minster, including a
covering for the altar, and crosses, covered by
plates of silver gilt, and that he was also generous

* Plummer's Bede, i. 432. ^ Op. cit. iii. 387, 388.

* The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, sub an. 744.

* Bedcy iv. 21 [23]. * Alcuin, De Pont. Ebor.y v. 12 17.

172 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

to other churches. He resigned the see before
his death in 732, probably in consequence of old
age, and died in 745.^ Dr. Stubbs, in his work
on Episcopal Succession, pp. 5 and 180, does
not seem to accept this view, and considers that he
died in 732. The authority of Bede's Continua-
tor, supported by Symeon of Durham,^ are, how-
ever, decisive, and Alcuin's De Pont. Ebor., vv.
1237, etc., distinctly refers to his retirement —

"At sua facta bonus postquam compleverat ille
Pastor in ecclesiis, specialia septa petivit
Quo servire Deo tota jam mente vacaret," etc.

He gives him a high character, and his words
show he was very popular and much beloved, and
that he was a lover of hospitality and a man
of the world.^ His words are a paraphrase of
Bede's letter to Archbishop Ecgberht, and prove
what he thought of him.

Odo, Archbishop of Canterbury, 940-959,
moved the remains of what he supposed was the
body of the great St. Wilfrid to Canterbury.
This was stoutly denied by the northern men,
and I have discussed the matter on an earlier page.
The people of York maintained that the remains
so removed were those of Wilfrid the second.
Eadmer, however, says that Wilfrid the second's
remains were enshrined at Worcester by St.
Oswald. Wilfrid was succeeded at York by

^ See Continuator of Bede. Plummer, i. p. 362.
^ Ep. de Arch. Ebor.^ par, i.. Rolls ed. i. 224.
^ Raine, Hist, of the Church of York, i. p. 385.

mSHOP WILFRID THE YOUNGER 173

Ecgberht, whose episcopate forms no part of my
subject.

The succession of Ecgberht forms, in fact, a
very important new departure in the history of the
Northern Church, and eventually in that of the
English Church also, for he was the first Arch-
bishop of York, all his predecessors having been
simply bishops of that see. Thenceforward the
English Church had two ecclesiastical provinces,
and the Archbishop of Canterbury ceased to be the
sole Metropolitan of England.

We have now followed the fortunes of the
Anglian Church to a notable point, and it will be
opportune to close our survey with Bede's report
on the condition of things among the races
and communities beyond our borders when he
concluded his famous book in 731. He says :
** The Picts at this time have a treaty of peace
with the nation of the Angles, and rejoice in being
united in Catholic peace and truth with the
Universal Church. The Scots that inhabit Britain,
satisfied with their own territories, meditate no
plots or conspiracies against the nation of the
Angles. The Britons, though they for the
most part, through domestic hatred, are adverse
to the nation of the Angles, and wrongfully and
from wicked custom oppose the appointed Easter
of the whole Catholic Church ; yet, from both the
Divine and human power firmly withstanding them,
they can in no way prevail as they desire ; for
though in part they are their own masters, yet

174 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

partly also they are brought under subjection to
the English.

Let me finish in his own exulting words : ''Hie
est impraesentiarum ttniversae status Brittaniae
anno adventus Anglorum in Brittaniam eirciter
ducentissimo oetogesimo qtiinto, Dominicae auteTn
Incarnationis anno DCCXXXI. ; in Cujus regno
perpetuo exsultet terra, et congratulante in fide
ejus Britannia, laetentur insulae 7nultae et confi-
teantur memoriae sanctitatis ejus'' ^

* Bede, H.E., v. 23,

APPENDIX I

THE ROYAL AND HIGH-BORN NUNS

One feature of the Early English Church which is continually
present to those who read its history is the large part occupied
by nuns, especially by nuns of high birth, in its polity. I have
had to mention them prominently on several occasions, but deem
it well to collect together in a more formal manner an account
of such incidents regarding them as have not come within the
general course of my narrative.

The existence of women whose lives were devoted to
virginity and to the services of religion, was of course known to
Paganism. The Vestal Virgins naturally suggest themselves as
an example. When the ascetic life pervaded the Church with
its ideals, ideals largely involving withdrawal from the world
and its pleasures, and devotion to penitential life, it is not
strange that the more emotional sex, a sex prone to extravagance
in the pursuit of self-sacrifice, took an active part. When the
hermits covered the Egyptian deserts with their colonies, women
were represented among them as were men, and when St. Basil
first put order into these devotees by associating them into
communities living under a Rule, he provided for communities
of women as well as men.

In the West such communities of women seem to have
come into general existence somewhat later, and it would
appear that even in the time of Pope Gregory the Great a large
portion of the nuns — and there were, according to his letters, 3000
of them living in Rome alone — apparently dedicated themselves,
but lived in their own houses, as his sisters and mother did.
In other cases it would seem that from early times communities
of men and women grew up side by side, which was a con-
venient way of providing for the services in the nunneries. In
either case, the vows of virginity and obedience which accom-
panied the dedication had to be made in the presence of a bishop,

who consecrated and gave them the necessary benediction.

175

176 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

As time went on the necessity for more stringent Rules to
prevent scandals when monasteries of the two sexes were
placed near each other was felt. Several of these Rules are
extant, the most famous of them being those of Caesarius,
Bishop of Aries (502-542) in France, and of Archbishop
Leander in Spain.

When Caesarius composed his Rule the discipline of the
female communities had become very lax, and there was con-
tinual intercourse between them and the world by letters, etc.,
while they were accustomed to receive visits in private in their
parlours and chambers. They used to ingratiate themselves
with their male friends by taking care of their clothes, wash-
ing their linen, etc. Given to luxury, they indulged in rich
carpets and coverlets, purple dresses, embroideries, laces, and
delicately ornamented serviettes. Their houses had, as a recent
biographer of the Bishop says, " become retiring places for widows
and young women who wanted to escape marriages with un-
attractive suitors." They were often a troop of demimondistes
in the guise of servants of God. All this was encouraged by
the absence of any effective Rule. The discipline of the
nunneries was in fact much looser than that of the monks.
They were dependent on the male clergy for all their services,
and their houses were not too closely overseen by the bishops.
All this must be remembered when we judge of the minute
instructions in the Rule of Caesarius.

St. Caesarius was the first person in the West to draw up a
Rule specifically for nuns. It was prepared for a convent at
Aries which was dedicated to St. John, and was partly founded
on the Monastic Rules in vogue at Lerins, and the works of
St. Augustine and CaSsian, and consisted of forty-three heads,
of which I will give an abstract.

I. This provided a close claustral life until death for the
nuns, and seems to have been the first Rule with this provision.
Once a nun was professed, she was not to leave the nunnery
till her death.

II. Swearing and the taking of oaths was forbidden, as the
venom of the devil {velut venefium diaboli).

III. No nun was to be professed till her real vocation had
been severely tested, and for this purpose she was to be placed
under a senior for instruction. It was only on the request and
report of her directress that she was (under the supervision of the
prioress) to take the habit and join the schola of the nuns.

APPENDIX I 177

IV. Widows or those who had left their husbands were not
allowed to enter nunneries until they had divested themselves
of all their property by gift or sale in accordance with Matthew
xix. and Luke xxiv. No virgin could reach perfection until she
had surrendered all she possessed, which was styled *' peculiarity."
Until this was done she was not to receive the veil. Those
whose parents were still living, and who for this reason had
not obtained their patrimony, were to enter into an undertaking
to give it up when they succeeded to it. No nun, not even the
abbess, was to have a private servant. When at work the
older ones might, however, be helped by the younger ones.

V. Neither the children of nobles nor of humble folk were
to be brought up or taught in the nunneries, unless when they
were offered by their parents with the intention that they should
presently become nuns, and this was not to be till they were six
or seven years old.

VI. No one should work at making anything unless at the
wish of a senior.

VII. No nun was to have a box or cupboard where she
could secrete any private things, nor were they to consider any
particular cell as their own, nor choose for themselves which cell
they would have.

VIII. They should never speak with a loud voice
(Ephesians iv.). Nor was it allowed them to talk or work
while singing the psalms.

IX. No nun was to be a godmother to any child, rich or poor.

X. If a nun came late to prayers or to her hours after the
summons, she was to be reproved, and for a second or third
offence was to be excluded from communion (a communione) and
from entertainments.

XI. If any nun were corrected or beaten because of a
fault, she was not to complain, and if she did so she was to be
excluded from table or from prayers.

XII. Those who were engaged in cooking were to be allowed
to drink a little wine. All the sisters were to work at their
menial duties in turn, except the abbess and the prioress.

XIII. At vigils, in order not to be overcome by sleep, they
might work at something which did not distract their prayers,
or stand up instead of sitting.

XIV. When wool-working, each was to receive the daily
portion of wool allotted to her with humility, and to be
strenuous at her work.

VOL. III. — 12

178 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

XV. No one should have any private property either in
clothes or anything else.

XVI. There was to be no grumbling, for which injunction
Philemon 2 was quoted; all must obey the Mother, next to
God, and after her the prioresses. When they were seated at
table they were to be silent and listen to the reader. If it was
necessary to speak it must be in a whisper. When the reader
had finished they were to meditate.

XVII. They must all learn to read, and spend two hours a
day, from early morning till the second hour, in reading.

XVIII. The rest of the day they must work and not gossip,
and only talk for the purpose of edification or the necessities
of work ; otherwise, when at work, one of the sisters was to read
to them for an hour until tierce.

XIX. If any one on joining the community had some
possessions she was humbly to give them up to the Mother for
the common good. Those who had nothing were not to try
and appropriate any in the nunnery. Those who were better
off on entering the monastery were not to give themselves airs
over their poorer sisters, but all were to treat each other as
equals and in a sisterly way.

XX. When singing hymns and psalms they must think of
the words as well as of the music, and they should meditate on
the Scriptures during their work. The sick were to use every
effort for speedy recovery, and on regaining their strength were
to revert to their ascetic mode of living.

XXI. None of them (instigated by the devil) should look at
men with lustful eyes, nor indulge in impure thoughts.

XXII. If a nun noticed another sister behaving indiscreetly
she ought to reprove her privately ; if this did not suffice she
was to report the fact to the Mother, nor should she be deemed
to have done wrong by the others for doing so. It was wrong
to remain silent when conscious of a sister erring. This involved
sharing her offence. It was better she should be punished in
her body than that her heart should suffer.

XXIII. If a sister secretly received letters or presents from any
one and it was found out, she was to be reported and punished.
Similarly if she sent letters or presents. If she wished to send
something to a relative, she must get proper authority and then
dispatch it through the janitress or gatekeeper.

XXIV. It was right, as was attested by Proverbs xxiii. and
Eccl. XXX., that nuns who engaged in quarrels or altercations, or

I

APPENDIX I 179

stole things, or struck each other, " all which acts was almost
incredible," should be punished.

XXV. The stock of woollen clothes for the nuns was to be
kept by the prioress and dispensed by her as was necessary.

XXVI. There was to be no contention or jealousy among
them about their clothes. If any had extra clothes given them
on account of sickness they were to be returned to the
registoria (nun in charge of the wardrobes).

XXVII. No one was to engage in any work not specially
authorised : they were not to work in private but in company.

XXVIII. The cellarer, the janitress, and the keeper of the
wardrobe were to be selected not to please any one, but because
of her fitness and in view of the common good. No sister was
to have either food or drink by her bedside. No one was to
secretly keep wine nor to have a gift made of it, but if sick she
was to be supplied with it by those in charge of the duty. In
such cases, if the monastery did not produce wine of good
quality, the abbess was to obtain it, so that those who were ill
or delicate should not suffer.

XXIX. Baths were not to be forbidden to the sick, and were
to be used by them without murmuring when ordered by the
doctor. Whether sick or well they must obey the senior in this
matter, and not have their whims indulged.

XXX. In order to take care of the sick or feeble, some
one who was faithful and gentle should be chosen, who should
obtain from the cellarer whatever was necessary for them, and
they should also have a separate cook and cellarer if possible.
The cellarer should have charge of the stores of wool, the
clothes, books, and food, and should undertake by swearing
on the Gospels to fulfil her duties faithfully and without
murmuring, and if any of them used or stored her clothes,
shoes, or utensils carelessly, she was to be duly punished.

XXXI. They were not to indulge in quarrels, and any one
who injured a sister was to be punished, and if she persisted
in her evil ways she was to live in a secluded place, in charge
of a sister and be put under discipline. The prioress who had
charge of the discipline of the convent was to use moderation
in her rebukes, and not to be exacting in reproving small faults,
but to leave their punishment to God.

XXXII. They were to obey their " Mother " and the prioress
who was set over them without murmuring. And they were to
exercise their discipline with charity and consideration, and to

1 80 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

aim at strengthening the weak, correcting the timid, and fortify-
ing the uneasy and nervous.

XXXni. Above all things, in order to preserve their good
name, no man should enter the secluded part of the nunnery
or its chapels except the bishop, the provisor, the priest, deacon
and sub-deacon, and one or two readers of mature age who
should perform the services. When, however, the roofs and the
doors or windows were being repaired, and workmen were needed
for this or similar work, they might enter with the consent of the
abbess, otherwise no man was to be admitted.

XXXIV. Secular matrons or girls and men in lay costume
were not to enter the nunnery.

XXXV. When the abbess went to the reception room to
receive salutations she was to be accompanied by two or three
sisters in order to preserve her dignity. If bishops, abbots, or
other important "religious" wished to enter the chapel to pray,
they might do so. The gates of the monastery were to be
opened at opportune times.

XXXVI. No nun was to be present at meals with bishops,
abbots, monks, clerks, secular men or women or similar visitors,
nor with the relatives of the abbess, either inside or outside the
monastery, nor was the bishop of the diocese nor the provisor
to hold a feast there. Religious women from the city possessing
considerable social position were only very rarely to be admitted ;
but if some one came from another city and wished to see
the nunnery, or to see her daughter, and was a religious person,
she might, with the consent of the abbess, be present at a meal.

XXXVII. If any nun wished to see a sister or a daughter
or other relative she was to ask permission, and such permission
was not to be denied to her.

XXXVIII. The abbess, unless on account of some infirmity
or some pressing occupation, was not to go outside the boundary
{extra coftgregationem penitus non reficiaiur).

XXXIX. The abbess and prioress as well as the cellarer
were especially enjoined that their most pressing function was
to cherish and look after the sick and infirm, and to see that
they were indulged in what was necessary for them and in the
relaxation of all rules which pressed upon them.

XL. This Rule contains minute instructions about the
methods of dispensing the clothes to the nuns, and replacing
old ones by new ones, etc. etc. The only interesting provision
in it is that which provides that these clothes were to be simple

APPENDIX I i8i

and of incons[)icuous colour, neither black nor white, but
cream-coloured or of the colour of the wool, and were to be made
in the monastery under the guidance of the prioress or " laundry-
maid " and distributed by the Mother of the monastery as required.

XLI. The beds were to have simple coverlets and not
coloured or flowered ones ; no silver ornaments were to be used
in the monastery save in the services.

XLII. Feather-work and embroidery and silk or coloured
or decorated vesture were to be excluded from nunneries ; the
materials of the nuns' dresses were to be simple. The only
ornaments on them were to be crosses, which were to be black
or cream-coloured, and made of cloth or linen ; nor were veils
ornamented with wax nor painted tablets to be used, nor were
the walls of the nunnery nor the cells to have any pictures on
them. In the dwellings of nuns things should be looked at with
spiritual and not merely human eyes. If any such forbidden
things were presented to the nunnery they were to be sold for
the benefit of the community or transferred to the Basilica.
Embroidery was only to be allowed on horsecloths and napkins,
and when the abbess permitted it. On no account were they
without the consent of the abbess to wash or mend or store or
dye the clothes of clerics or laics or relatives, nor of strange men
and women, lest the good fame of the monastery should suffer.

XLIII. This concluding clause was addressed to the abbess
and prioress, and especially enjoined them not to relax their vigil-
ance in consequence of threats or blandishments or other cause.

In addition to the Rules as just set out, Csesarius also
prepared an epitome or recapitulation. In this some additional
provisions are contained to make those already named more
clear. Liter alia, the assignation of a particular cell to any nun
was forbidden in order to prevent her from secretly receiving
visitors, either men or women, nor was she ever to speak alone nor
to correspond secretly with a man, even a relative. They were not
to use any clothes of a bright colour, as white or black or beaver-
coloured {bebrina), nor were they to bind up their hair very high.
They were to do all their work in company and not alone.

The long fast from Pentecost to the kalends of September
was to be tempered by the abbess in the way she deemed wise.
From the kalends of September to those of November, the second,
fourth, and sixth days were to be fast days. From the kalends
of November to Christmas day all the days were to be fast days
except the festivals and Saturdays. There was to be a fast of

1 82 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

seven days before Epiphany. From Epiphany to Quadragesima
week, the fourth and sixth days were to be fasts. The vigils of
Easter and Epiphany were to be kept until daylight.

In regard to food. During fast days it was to be partaken
of three times daily. At breakfast only two dishes apiece. On
the great festivals certain dishes were to be added at breakfast.
On other days in summer and in autumn two only were to be then
provided, at supper three dishes. The younger nuns were to
have two dishes at all their meals. Meat was never to be eaten
unless a nun was desperately ill, and it was so ordered ; only
the sick were to be allowed fowls. They were to remember
their founder Csesarius in all their prayers, public and private,
so that he might rule the church wisely, and for themselves that
they should follow the vocation of pious virgins faithfully.
Lastly, they must take care never to leave open the door of
the old baptistery, or the "schola," the weaving-room, or the
turret near the orchard, nor should any of them presume
to open them without leave.

On the death of an abbess no one should support a candidate
for the post on the grounds of her relationship, etc. etc., but
*only because she would rule the convent wisely and prudently.
Caesarius bade them keep the Rule he had given them in its
minutest injunctions and with all their strength, and if the abbess
or the prioress should at any time, "which God forbid," endeavour
to relax it, they were to resist her, and to bring her before him-
self for punishment. If any sister should prove recalcitrant, she
must be removed to a penitential cell and not be allowed to
return till she agreed to conform.

It has been remarked about these Rules that they are very
meticulous and careful of small things, and exact an extravagant
austerity far removed from the wise moderation of St. Benedict's
Rules. They doubtless, however, formed the substantial part
of the administrative Rules of most of the French nunneries,
and were perhaps needed when morals were generally very loose.^
Let us now turn shortly to the Celtic nunneries.

The most interesting form which Monasticism took at this
time was that of the double monasteries. On this subject Mr.
H. B. Workman has written some paragraphs which I cannot
improve upon and will take the liberty of borrowing. He traces
the practice back to the Agapetae, " female Christian ascetics
who lived together with men, though both parties had taken the
^ Migne, Pat.^ vol. Ixvii. pp. H05 and ff.

APPENDIX I 183

vows of celibacy. These spiritual marriages — possibly in origin
an attempt to substitute brotherly love for marriage — were very
common with the Valentinians, Montanists, and Eucratites, and
in the third and fourth century were held in favour also in the
Catholic Church, as also with the early saints of the Celtic
Church. From such spiritual marriages, designed as an aid in
subduing the flesh, the step to concubinage was but slight.
By the sixth century the worst construction was put by both
populace and Church upon all such connections, and every effort
was made to stamp them out." ^ These Agapetae, however, were
only the incipient stages of a movement which blossomed in the
later double monasteries. The title, says Workman, goes back to the
time of Justinian. In these monasteries the Abbess ruled over the
men, and a society of regular priests administered to the spiritual
needs of regular women. " At the very rise of monasticism, we
find the sister of Pachomius establishing a community of nuns on
the other side of the Nile opposite to her brother's monasteries ;
while St. Basil and his sister Macrina presided over settlements
of men and women, separated only by the river Iris. Though
prohibited by the Council of Agde in Languedoc, and by
Justinian, the system of double monasteries flourished." Bede
implies the existence of one in Rome {Monackum quendam de vtci?io
Virginum 77wnasterio nomine Andrea?n)y^ while S. Radegunda
was head of a famous Frankish double monastery at Poictiers."
Thus before the arrival of Columbanus double monasteries
flourished in Gaul, while after his arrival, we note the rise of
some of the largest and most famous, though none of them
owed their origin to the saint himself. " Examples," says
Workman, " are Remirement, Soissons, Jouarre, Brie, Chelles, and
Andelys ; the last three were especially favoured by English
ladies.^ St. Boniface introduced the feature in Germany, where
tiie establishments were in several cases presided over by nuns
trained at Wimborne." ^

From the first they flourished in the Celtic Church, perhaps
because they were a survival of the old Clan system, when men
and women alike belonged to the same religious community.
In Ireland the head of such monasteries was usually a man, as
the head of the Clan was ; but in the Scoto-Irish monasteries of
England, especially in those founded by royal princesses and
in Columban's double monasteries in Gaul and Belgium, the

^ Workman, Evolution of Monasticism, 62. "^ H.E., iv. i.

* Bede, H.E., iii. 8. * Workman, op. cit. 177 and 178.

1 84 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

monastery of clerks or priests, which was generally placed at the
gate of the nunnery, was ruled over by the abbess. This singular
inversion of the normal relationship was due probably to the fact
that in such cases the real centre or original foundation was the
nunnery, but that for the spiritual needs of the nuns as well
as for the oversight of their lands and estates, there grew up a
smaller dependent monastery of priests and lay brethren. But
in some monasteries the monks were in a majority.^

Archbishop Theodore in some of his Canons forbids any new
foundations of this description, though forced to recognise those
that already existed. But his regulations were disregarded, and
new double monasteries, e.g. Wim borne, were founded after his
death. What the Archbishop could not do, the Danes accom-
plished by their general destruction of the monastic life of Eng-
land at the end of the ninth century, though on the Continent
we find double monasteries existing until late in the eleventh
century. Among the double monasteries in England, Bardney,
Barking, Ely, Whitby, and Coldingham are mentioned by Bede ;
others existed at Wimborne, Repton, Wenlock, Wimborne,
Nuneaton, and perhaps Carlisle.^

As in later times, the Anglo-Saxon nunneries were of two
kinds. In one of these classes the inmates consisted chiefly, if
not entirely, of royal and noble ladies, who, for different reasons,
sought them or were put in them by their parents. Among them
rigid asceticism was often disregarded. They were, in fact, culti-
vated homes, generally safe from outrage in very rough times,
where fathers put redundant daughters for whom husbands could
not be found, and unhappy wives and lonely widows consorted
with those of their class and devoted themselves to church
embroidery, copying and illuminating MSB., reading poetry,
learning Latin and probably also French. These grand ladies
were dressed in rich habits, the costly character of which was
supposed to be atoned for by their orthodox patterns. The
moralists of the time inveigh against such aristocratic nuns.

Aldhelm attacks the luxurious costumes of some of the inmates
of both sexes in the nunnery at Barking, and notably of certain
abbesses and nuns who wore a fine linen undervest of violet and
over it a scarlet tunic with wide sleeves and hoods and cuffs
trimmed with furs or silk, who curled their hair with a hot iron
all round their foreheads, while golden ornaments in the shape of
crescents encircled their necks, and who changed their veils into a
^ Workman, op. cit. 178-79. ^ lb. 179 and note.

APPENDIX I 185

head-covering fastened with coloured ribbons which hung down
to their feet. Others sharpened and bent their nails like the claws
of falcons, wore shoes of red leather, and used stibium with which
to paint their face.^ These were of course exceptional cases, but
they no doubt had a tendency to grow where the inn:iates adopted
the veil for other motives than to pass an ascetic life. The normal
conditions prevailing in nunneries at this time are well described
in the life of an Anglo-Saxon nun named Leoba, who went from
Wimborne to found a nunnery at Bischoffsheim in Germany, and
which was written by Ralph of Fulda.

He says " there were two monasteries at Wimborne, formerly
erected by the kings of the country, which were surrounded by
strong and lofty walls and endowed with competent revenues.
Of these, one was designed for clerks, the other for females, but
neither (for such was the law of their foundation) was ever
entered by any individual of the other sex. No woman could
obtain permission to come into the monastery of the men ;
none of the men to come into the convent of the women,
with the exception of the priests who entered to perform the
mass, and withdrew the minute the service was over. If a
female, desirous of quitting the world, asked to be admitted
among the sisterhood, she could obtain her request, be she
who she might, on this condition only, that she should never
seek to go out unless it were on some extraordinary occa-
sion which might seem to justify such indulgence. Even the
abbess herself, if it were necessary that she should receive advice
or give orders, spoke to men through a window; and so desirous
was Leoba to remove all opportunity of conversation between
the sisters and persons of the other sex, that she refused entrance
into the convent, not only to laymen and clergymen, but even to
the bishops themselves." ^ Bede, in speaking of the monastery
of Barking in Essex, mentions the plague as raging in that part
of the building occupied by the men " before it reached that
other part where a crowd of the maidens of God lived." ^

The first English nun who is recorded was ^thelberga, the
daughter of King ^Ethelberht, who, on the death of her husband
^dwin, king of Northumbria, in 633, returned to Kent, where
she founded a small nunnery at Lyminge, doubtless based on the

^ De lazidibus Virg. , 307 and 364.

^ Vit. S. Leobae. See Lingard, Aug. Sax. Churchy i. 213 and 214.
' Qua ancillarum Dei caterva a vironim erat secret a confute rnio, \\ 214,
note I.

I S6 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

pattern of those in Gaul. There she took the veil, and there she
died in 647.^ She was a friend and perhaps a relation of King
Dagobert.

Not long afterwards her niece Eanswitha, the daughter of
King Eadbald, founded another small nunnery at Folkestone,
doubtless of the same type, and of which she became the abbess.^
Two popular tales are told of her — namely, that she tamed flocks
of wild geese which spoilt her harvests, some of which her
servants stole from her poultry yard and ate, to her great dis-
pleasure. Secondly, with the tip of her crozier she dug a canal
to bring a stream of fresh water which was needed for the
monastery, and which was miraculously made to run uphill from
Swilton, a mile from Folkestone.^ A fragment of her Office is
still extant and was published by the BoUandists, showing that
her nunnery must have lived long. The church which she built,
and which was overwhelmed by the Danes, was rebuilt by John
de Segrave and his wife Juliana de Sandwich in the thirteenth
century, and was then dedicated to St. Peter and St. Eanswitha.*

A leaden reliquary containing some of her bones is preserved
at Folkestone.^

The next venture, in the same way, was made in Northumbria
by Heiu. The name has not an English look, and it may well
be that she was of Celtic origin — perhaps a Briton from Elmet
in West Yorkshire. Bede says she was the first woman in
Northumbria who was reputed to have been a nun, and adds that
she was veiled and consecrated by Bishop Aidan.^ She founded
a nunnery about 650 at a place called Heruteu, which Bede
exi)lains as meaning the island of the hart,'^ but which really
means Hartwater. Florence of Worcester calls it Heortesig.^
It is now known as Hartlepool.

Soon afterwards Heiu retired to Calcaria (which, says Bede,
was called Kaelcacaestir by the Anglians), and there dwelt.^ She
left her Hartlepool nunnery in charge of Milda. Calcaria is
represented by the modern Tadcaster, about six miles from York.
Conterminous with the parish of Tadcaster, says Father D.
Haigh, is the chapelry of Healaugh (anciently Helegh, and still
pronounced Heeley) ; Healaugh Hall, close to the river ; and
Healaugh Manor, on the site of an ancient priory, about two miles

^ Fide Howorth, SL Augtistiiie of Canterbury , 329-32.

'^ ^b- 333-34- ^ Hardy, Cat., i. pp. 228, 229, and 382.

* Montalcmbert, Engl, ed., v. 258.

^ I gave a pictiuc of it in my volume on Augustine the Missionary , p. 334.

'"' Bede, iv. 23. ' lb. iii. 24. '^ M.H.B.y 531. '*• Op. cit. iv. 23.

Ivory Tablet commemorating St. Eanswttha.

[IW. [II., facing p. i86.

APPENDIX I 187

north by east. He explains the name Healaugh as meaning the
domain subject to the jurisdiction of Heiu, and adds that "it is not
improbable that the chapel, to the north-east of which there are ex-
tensive remains as well as the priory, stands on the sites of earlier
buildings of St. Heiu's monastery. In the course of digging a
vault in the cemetery at Healaugh many years ago, a broken
tombstone was found six feet below the surface. The design is
very peculiar, consisting of a composition of circles, all scratched
slightly with a compass and a cross roughly formed by triple
lines. The inscription gives two names thus disposed

MA HE

D V G V

"The name to the left is certainly Celtic, either British or
Scotic. Several churches in Wales are dedicated to St. Madoc,
while a Maedhog died Bishop of Ferns in a.d. 632.

" The name to the right wants but one letter to correspond
with the one to the left and to complete the name Heiu, and the
stone is broken away where this should be." It seems to me
that Father Haigh has made out a conclusive case, and that this
cross can only be that of Abbess Heiu.^ Its primitive style also
points to the seventh century, and we may reasonably conclude
that Abbess Heiu was buried at Hartlepool.

Let us now turn to another and more famous nun, who
succeeded Heiu as Abbess of Heruteu. Bede says that Hilda
or Hild was nobly born and was the daughter of Hereric,
the nephew {nepos 2) of King ^dwin. Her mother was called
Bregusuid or Bersuitha. Hereric for some unexplained reason
lived as an exile with Cerdic, the British chief of the district
of Elmet (near Leeds). Probably, like the rest of the royal
family of Deira, he had been exiled by yEthelfrid, king of Bernicia,
and it was perhaps at the instance of the latter that, as Bede
tells us, he was poisoned while at Elmet. Upon this, his widow
doubtless returned to Deira, taking with her her daughter Hilda
and the latter's elder sister Heresuitha. Bede tells us that when
Hilda was still a child, her mother Bregusuid had a dream in
which it seemed as if she was looking diligently for her husband
Hereric, but could not find him anywhere. Having exhausted
all her ingenuity in the search, she suddenly found a most
precious jewel under her garment, which while she was looking

^ See Yorks. Arch, and Top. Society^ s Journal , vol. iii. pp. 363-65.
^ Both Father Haigh and Mr. Pkimmer agree that the dates compel us to
translate nepos here by nephew and not by grandson.

1 88 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

on it very attentively cast such a light that it spread itself

throughout all Britain, which dream, says Bede, was brought to

pass in her daughter, whose life was such an example to all who

wished to live well.^ He adds that Hilda died in the year 680

at the age of sixty-six.^ She must therefore have been born

in 614. She was probably baptized by Paulinus at York, with

King ^dwin and the rest of his family.^ According to Florence,

who is followed by Plummer of Worcester, Heresuitha married

T^thelhere, the brother of Anna, king of East Anglia. I am now

disposed to think this is a mistake, ^thelhere was a pagan, and

the Liber Eliensis distinctly makes her the wife of Anna, as Smith

does in his notes to chapter v. of Bede's H.E. She apparently

left him before his death, since Bede expressly says she was living

in a monastery in 647, and Anna was then still king. Nennius

calls ^thelhere, Edric,* which is confirmed by the genealogy in

the Textus Roffensis^ which calls him ^therric. Haigh urges that

this form is right.^ By her husband she became the mother of

Aldwulf, afterwards king of the East Angles.^ Heresuitha was

apparently the first distinguished East Anglian lady to enter a

Frankish monastery. Bede says this was the monastery of " Cale "

{i.e. Chelles),''' but he must have mistaken the name, for that

establishment was not founded till 662. Presently the French

nunneries became famous resorts of English ladies. Bede expressly

says : Multi de Britannia monachicae conversationis gratia^ Fran-

coriitn vel Galliariijn monasteria adire solebant ; sed et filias suas

eisdem erudiendas^ ac sponso caelesti copulandas ?nitteba?it.^

Let us return to Hilda. We do not hear anything of her
after her baptism till she was thirty-three years old, when she
determined to adopt a religious life. Bede, as Haigh says, never
calls her a virgin as he does her successor, and he thinks it extra-
ordinary if in those times she reached the age of thirty-three ,
without marriage or religious consecration, and therefore argues
that in 647 she was a widow.^

Attracted by the reputation of the French nunneries, she
made up her mind to join her sister in one of them. She set
out thither ; but if Bede's words are to be taken literally, she did
not actually go to France, but apparently to East Anglia. She

^ Op. cit. iv. 23. ^ lb. ' See Howorth, Augustine the Missionary^ 262.
< M.H.B., 75. ^ Op. cit. p. 352. ^ See Plummer, Bede, ii. 244.

'This was a Royal city on the Marne, described as about 100 stadia from
Paris. Bcrcen Bathildis built a nunnery there {M.H.B., iSo, note).
8 Bede, H.E., iii. 8. » Op. cit, 354.

/;': / .;:" .y

i; i ; C ! '

This fragment was found with the others at Hartlepool. The only remains of
the inscription read " . . .; equiesc[ijt [hoc lo]co." To whom it was erected
we do not know, but it belongs to the same time.

Memorial of Heiu.

Monument of Bregusuid, Mother of St. Hilda.

[IW. in.,facino^p. \\

" ^\

Cross of Hilditiiryth, or St. Hilda.

{Vol. III., facing p. i88.

Cross of IIildegyth.

[J'ol III., facing p. i83.

APPENDIX I 189

did not stay there long, however : twelve months later she was
summoned home again to Northumbria by St. Aidan. There
she accepted the gift of a piece of land sufficient to maintain a
family. This is called a hiwscipe (and not, as usual, a hide) in
the Anglo-Saxon translation of Bede. She lived a secluded
life for a year with some companions, and, as we have seen,
moved to Hartlepool when Heiu went to Tadcaster. There she
began to put things in order and to introduce a Rule. She had
the help of learned men, and was frequently visited by Bishop
Aidan.^ In the year 653, while she was at Hartlepool, King Oswy,
who had dedicated his little daughter ^Ifleda (then only a year
old) to God, in case he should defeat Penda in the battle of
the Winwaed, put the latter in charge of Hilda, who thus became
her foster-mother. 2 At the same time he made over to the Church
twelve small portions of land {duodecim possessiunculis errartum^
called twelve boclands in the A.S. translation), six of which were
in Deira and six in Bernicia. Each of these portions contained
ten families {i.e. consisted of ten hides), making one hundred
and twenty in all. Bede implies that the king intended twelve
monasteries to be built on these twelve portions of land.^

Before pursuing the career of Hilda in another sphere, it
will be convenient to collect some interesting and not too
familiar notes on some of the earlier inmates of the monastery
at Hartlepool. The site of what was no doubt its cemetery was
accidentally discovered in 1833 in digging some foundations for
houses in a field called the "Cross field," probably from a
monumental cross once standing there, and situated about 135
yards south-east of the ruins of the Friary (additional traces were
found in 1838 and 1843). At the depth of 3 J feet from the
surface, several skeletons, male and female, of tall stature were
found lying in rows on the surface of the limestone rock in
a direction north and south. Small flat stones from five to
six inches square were placed under their heads as if they
were pillows. Other stones marked with crosses and inscribed
were found with some of them. Nine of these latter are known,
but it is possible there may have been others which were lost.
The crosses in question are incised on the small slabs of stone,
and, as may be seen from the plate, are in simple taste. They
generally resemble Irish crosses of the same type and workman-
ship. They were first figured by Father Haigh in a paper in
the Journal of the ArchcEological Association^ vol. i. pp. 193-195.
^ Bede^ iv. ch. 23. ^ lb. iii. 24. ^ Op. cii. iii. 24.

I90 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

One of the crosses was of a very peculiar form, each Hmb
being graced with a glory such as is found round the heads of
holy personages on some early Northumbrian carvings and coins.
" The inscription below the transom of the cross," says Haigh, " is
. . . gugiiid (certainly iox gusuid ; suidor suith is very common as
the final element in the names of women, while ^z//^ or guith never
occurs)." The first letters of the name have weathered away,
but as Haigh, a most experienced judge in such matters, says, there
is no possibility of restoring what is lost so as to get a true Anglian
name other than Bregusuid. With this stone were found two
skeletons, the head of each resting on a plain stone about five
inches square. The stone here described, says Haigh, is
apparently the earliest of the series. " It is undoubtedly the
memorial of Bregusuid, the mother of Hilda." She is called
Beorhtsuith by Florence of Worcester, and Bertcsuid in the Liber
VitcB. Above the transom are some detached letters. The whole
when complete is certainly to be read (Ora)te p(ro) Bregusuid.

We will now turn to two other stones, which, like the one just
described, are much larger than the rest. One of these bears the
name Hildithryth in runes, which Haigh identifies as the grave-
stone of St. Hilda herself. He argues that Hilda is really not
a complete name. As in other cases, such as Cutha for Cuthwulf
in the Eng. Chron.^ Cuana for Conrad in the Chro7iicon Scotorum,
and Leoba for St. Leobgyth, one of St. Boniface's disciples,
and at one time a nun at Wimborne, the first syllable has been
similarly used in the case of Hild instead of her full name.

I would add to Haigh's arguments another which strikes me
as very forcible, namely, that Hild was the name of the goddess
of war among the pagan Saxons, and an individual would hardly
be named after the goddess without some qualifying particle.

Haigh accordingly argues that the name of Hildithryth, which
occurs on one of the two bigger stones just mentioned, was
really St. Hilda's full name. He mentions that in the famous
Liber VitcB now at Durham, one section of which he claims to
have been compiled at Lindisfarne in the latter half of the ninth
century and which contains a list of the most famous saints and
saintly people in the north who had been benefactors of the
monastery, the name of Hild or Hilda does not occur alone, but
only in such forms as Hildithryth, Wulfhild, Tidhild, Hildiberht,
Hildiwald, etc., and he says very conclusively that the name of the
great abbess of Heruteu and Strenaeshalh would certainly not
have been omitted from its list of queens and abbesses. Now it is

1^

•^
^

^

O

c

1

APPENDIX I 191

very curious that while the name of Hild or Hilda does not
occur in it, the name of Hildithryth, which is not recorded in
that form by Bede or elsewhere in early literature, does occur.

I would add still another argument to the strong ones made
use of by Haigh. Bede, in speaking of the famous people who had
been interred at Whitby, does not mention St. Hilda at all, which
is incredible if she had been buried there, and it is indeed almost
certain that she was buried beside her mother at her own early
foundation at Hartlepool, and that her full name was HildiGryth.

On another stone there is another similar name also in runes
{i.e. Hilddigyth), doubtless representing some distinguished nun
or abbess otherwise unrecorded. The name is one of a series
of five which occurs twice in the Liber VitcB.

Let us now turn to another of the larger gravestones, which
is inscribed with the name Berchtgyth. It seems probable that
when Hilda removed to her new foundation at Whitby, Berchtgyth
took her place at Hartlepool. That she was connected by a close
tie with the two abbesses commemorated on the other larger
gravestones is more than suggested by the fact that in the
Liber Vitce the three names BerchtsuiS, Hildithryth, and
Berchtgyth follow each other.

Haigh identifies this last abbess with a Berthgyth whose
letters written to her brother Balthard are preserved in the great
collection of the letters of Boniface.^ In the first one she
speaks of her affection for her brother, and how she was left
alone and deprived of the help of her kindred. " My father and
mother," she says, " have left me, but God has taken care of me."
" Many gatherings of the water are between me and thee ; let
us, however, be united in love which knows no special locality.
I implore thee, dearest brother, either to come to me, or to
contrive that I may come to thee, so that I may see thee before
I die." In the second letter she acknowledges the receipt of a
letter and of presents from Balthard which had been brought
to her by a certain Aldred who was taking back her reply. She
again urges him to go and see her. *' When I hear of and see
others going to their friends, I remember how I was abandoned
by my relatives when I was young and remained alone. Yet
God did not desert me. If thou wouldst come and see me I
would remain contentedly where I am ; otherwise I shall return
to my relatives." She ends her letter by saying she was sending
him a small gift, namely a witta (?). There is a third letter extant
^ Ed. E. Dlimmler, Nos. 147 and 148.

192 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

in which neither her name nor that of her brother occurs. It
is in the same querulous tone, and was obviously written by the
same writer. In this she calls herself ultima ancillarum Dei}
The Magdeburg Centuriators have identified this Balthard with
one who became Abbot of Hersfeld in Germany and died in 796.2

On another of the stones at Hartlepool is a name read
Kanegut by Haigh, of which I can make nothing. No name like
it occurs in the Liber Vitce^ and it seems to me to have been mis-
read. Father Haigh associates it with a name occurring in one of
Boniface's letters which he reads Kanegnub. This will not pass,
however. The latter name is not Kanegnub but really Kuniburga,
as it is written in Diimmler's edition of the correspondence.

Three other names occur on two other of these small stones,
all of men — namely, Edilwini, Wermund, and Torhtsid.^ I have
discussed these on another page.

Let us now return to the Abbess Hilda. About the year
658 she undertook to build a more stately monastery at a place
called Streoneshalch. Bede gives an etymology of this name
which has greatly exercised the philologists, and they are agreed
that the meaning he gives is quite an impossible one — namely,
sinus-phari^ or the bay of the lighthouse. My friend the Rev.
J. C. Atkinson, who wrote the history of Cleveland, and was a
trustworthy scholar, considered Streone to be a personal name,
and translated hale by hall or hollow. " The name Dimuldehale
occurs in the Whitby register, but it cannot be identified.
Strensall near York may also be compared with it."* It has
been suggested that Hilda's choice of a site was inspired by the
taste of her Scotic teachers from lona, who preferred a solitary
coast and its islands to the secluded valleys and lonely rustic
places more generally chosen as sites for religious houses at a
later time, and in which she was imitating St. Aidan at Lindis-
farne and St. Cuthbert at Fame Island. The site was in any case
a splendid one, the first to be seen by seamen when returning
home, and the last they would miss in leaving it, while the lights
from its windows must often have served them for a beacon.

The monastery, like many other foundations of the time,

^ Ed. E. DUmmler, No. 143.

' lb. p. 428, note 2. ^ Yorks. Arch, and Top. Journal, iii. pp. 364-70.

* Murray's Yorkshire., cd. 1874, p. 214. Stopford Brooke says: ^' Streon
is not an English word, or this is the only place where it occurs ; and heath or
hath is a word of doubtful meaning, and when it seems to occur in the charters
has never llic meaning of angle or bay or corner" {Hist, of Eng. Lit,, 66,
note i).

APPENDIX I 193

was a double one for men and women, she herself, " Mother
Hilda," as they called her, presiding over both. In this and in
other respects its life and discipline were no doubt like those of
other Celtic monasteries. Bede says that her new monastery was
placed by Hilda under a strict Rule, where the rigid observance
of justice and piety, charity and other virtues, was enacted, and
particularly that of peace and love, " so that, after the manner of
the primitive church, no one there was rich and no one poor, none
havi?ig any property but all having their wealth in co^nmon^ Her
wisdom and prudence were so famed, says Bede, that kings and
princes sometimes sought her advice ; and so skilled were her
pupils in Scripture and the ways of justice that many of them
were fit to undertake ecclesiastical duties and even to serve at
the altar. Five bishops, in fact, were trained in her monastery —
namely, Bosa, ^tla, John, Wilfrid the second, and Oftfor. The
first became Bishop of York, the second Bishop of Dorchester
the third, fourth, and fifth secured the sees of Hexham and
that of York ; while the last, Oftfor, having devoted himself
to learning in the Abbess Hilda's two monasteries first, went to
Kent, where he studied for a while under Archbishop Theodore,
then on to Rome, and returning again, presided over the province
of the Hwiccas {i.e. Worcestershire).^

A much humbler but far more famous person who was a
protege of St. Hilda and a scholar in her monastery was
Caedmon, the first English poet of whom we have any record.
We shall have more to say about him in the third appendix.

The abbey of Streoneshalch also became a famous burial-
place for great people. In its church of St. Peter there lay,
says Bede, King ^dwin, King Oswy, his wife ^anfled and their
daughter yElfleda, and many other grandees,^ all of whose remains
were doubtless destroyed in the pitiless attack of the Danes two
centuries later. No trace of the remains of St. Hilda's famous
monastery remains except a rubbish heap where the old monks
put their broken pots and other debris. Father Haigh thus
describes it : " On the upper shelves of the cliff, the deposit
consisted of birds' bones, and oyster, whelk, and periwinkle shells ;
among which was found a comb with a runic inscription, a second
comb with two sets of teeth finely cut, and a large number of
bones of skulls of oxen, sheep, and goats, and horns of deer and
tusks of swine, three pot-hooks of iron, a double meat-hook, a
hoe, a scraper of iron, a small shovel, half a glass bead, some
^ Bedcy iv. 23. 2 jfj jjj 24.

VOL. III. — 13

194 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

broken coarse pottery, a spindle whorl, an ink-horn, two " styles "
of bone for writing on wax tablets, and lastly, and most important
of all, a leaden bulla inscribed BONIFACII on one side and
ARCHIDIAC on the other. This has been identified with
great probability with a bulla attached to some document issued
at Rome by St. Wilfrid's friend. Archdeacon Boniface." ^

The most notable event in the history of the abbey was
the famous synod which took its name from it, which met there
in the year 064, and at which Abbess Hilda was present. There
she is reported to have taken sides against the Roman party
and in favour of the Celtic view on the great question of the
right time for celebrating Easter. I have described the synod
at length in an earlier page.^ In my account, I ventured to
suggest that Agatho, who was present there as chaplain to
Bishop Agilberht, was very probably the well-known Pope of
the name. I find that this view, which I thought had not
been urged before, had already occurred to Father Haigh. His
words are: "We must believe . . . that this Agatho is no other
than he who was raised to the chair of St. Peter in 678. At
the time of the synod no doubt he would be one of the leading
clergy of Rome, and his coming to the synod with Agilbert
suggests a probability almost amounting to certainty that they
were entrusted with a special mission from Rome to endeavour
to bring the Northumbrian Church into conformity."^ The
fact of Pope Agatho having been present at this synod would
explain the complacent attitude adopted by him towards
Wilfrid after he became Pope.

When the synod at Whitby had finally decided the question
discussed there, the Abbess Hilda, like Bishop Ceadda,
acquiesced in its decision. She also took the side of Arch-
bishop Theodore against Wilfrid, and joined with him in the
ap[)eal to Rome against him.^

We cannot avoid the thought, as we follow her career, that
through the medium of the Church, women were able to fill
much more potent and influential roles in the world's economy
in the seventh century than might be supposed from the rough
times in which they lived. She was certainly one of the most
notable women in history. . At length her strength broke down.

^ Haigh, Yorks. Arch, and Top. Soc. Journ., iii. 370 and 371, where a
figure of the bulla is given.

^ Ante, i. 185-196. ^ Yorks. Arch. Journ., iii. 355.

* See i^ddi, op. cit. ch. 54.

APPENDIX I 195

Bede describes her as suffering from a kind of recurrent fever,
which came back annually for six years, and which at length
overwhelmed her. Summoning her handmaidens at cock-
crowing, she passed away while she was exhorting them ; and
and the same night, Bede tells us, her death was revealed by a
kind of second sight in another monastery she had built that
very year at Hacanos {i.e. Hackness, near Whitby). There was
at the time a certain nun called Begu, or Bega, who had been
in religion for thirty years. She was asleep in the dormitory of
the sisters at Hackness when suddenly she heard a well-known
sound in the air of the bell which was wont to awaken them for
prayers when any of them was removed from the world, and
opening her eyes, she fancied she saw the roof of the house open
and a river of light pour in from above which filled it, and St.
Hilda being carried by angels to heaven. Awakening, she looked
around, and noticing that the other sisters were all asleep, she
realised that she had had either a dream or a vision ; and rising
in a fright, she roused a nun who, according to the Anglo-Saxon
version, was prioress in the monastery and was called Frigyd, and
in great trouble reported to her that Hilda had taken her departure
with an escort of angels. The latter then awoke all the other
sisters and summoned them to church to say prayers and sing
psalms for the Mother, and at daybreak the brethren came from the
other monastery where she had died to report the fact. The
sisters told them they already knew what they had to tell, and it
then transpired that the vision occurred at the very time when
the saint had actually died. The two monasteries, says Bede,
were about thirteen miles apart.^

In later days it was supposed that the figure of St. Hilda
could sometimes be seen at one of the windows of the later
abbey at Whitby. This was the result, we are told, of certam
effects of mist and air, still sometimes visible.^

The Begu or Bega of this notice who was at Hackness when
Hilda died in 680, had according to Bede, been a nun for
thirty years — that is, since 650 — and must therefore have been
professed about the same time as the Heiu above named. She
can only have come to Hackness, however, in 679, when that
nunnery was built. Whence she came from we do not positively
know, but it seems to me very probable that she came from the
West, and not unlikely from Cumberland. In the twelfth-century
Life of her she is identified with Heiu, which is most improbable.
^ BedCy iv. 23. 2 Murray's Yorkshire^ p. 215.

196 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Bega may, however, like Bugga, have been a surname or pet name.
This is rather confirmed by a story of her. Begu is the old North-
umbrian name of b^g or beag, " a bracelet," and in her Life we are
told that a holy man who persuaded her to adopt a religious life
presented her with a bracelet which she was to wear constantly
in memory of her consecration. This bracelet she left behind
when she fled from Copeland, in Cumberland, and there it was
venerated for her sake.^ St. Bega gave her name to St. Bees Head
and to the town of St. Bees in Copeland. The giving of her name
to the headland was doubtless due to an early chapel dedicated
to her. The chapel built on the same spot by Henry the
First could hardly have been the first foundation there, for a
Norman king would not have built a new church to a saint
with an Irish name, and he probably only restored a building
which had been destroyed by the Danes. It is possible that, as
said in her Life, she was the daughter of an Irish prince born
in the beginning of the seventh century and brought up as a
Christian. She is reported to have fled from Ireland to escape
matrimony, and went to Cumberland, where she first led the hfe
of a hermit at Kirkedale, on the island of Cumbrae, and after-
wards called St. Bees, and she there founded a nunnery. Thence
she went to St. Aidan, who invested her with the black habit and
veil. She is said to have died on the 31st of October 681. The
author of her Life says it seems difficult to doubt the statement
that in the year 11 40 a coffin was found at Hackness inscribed
"Hie est sepulchrum Beghu." He also mentions a certain
Freetha who was probably the Frigyth of Bede's account.^
It is remarkable that among the memorial stones found at
Hackness, to be mentioned presently, is one on which there is a
representation of a female head ; the latter is surmounted by the
words, Bugga virgo. This is followed by two lines of runic
characters, and these by four other lines with so-called tree runes
or cryptic runes, and followed again by the word Orate. Can
this be the very stone mentioned in the life of St. Bega as having
been found in 1140 at the very spot, as mentioned above?
Bugga may here be a form of Bega.

She was honoured at Kilbagie, in Clackmannan, and at
Kilbucho, also in Scotland,^ and^ according to Butler, at Kilbees
in the same country, while the Breviary of Aberdeen says she
was also had in honour at Dunbar. The most notable miracle

* Haigh, op. cit. 350. ^ See Haigh, op. cit. 349 and 350.

^ D.C.B,^ i. 304-5; Forbes, KalendarSy 278.

APPENDIX I 197

connected with her was when a fall of snow in the middle of
summer exactly marked the boundaries of the original domain
of the saint, which had been disputed.^

More than one pretty story is connected with Hilda's name.
Inter alia, the explanation of the ammonites found in the
adjoining lias beds which look so like coiled snakes with their
heads cut off and which she is supposed to have beheaded and
petrified, hence the blazonry of the abbey shield representing
three ammonites. A similar story was told of St. Keyne in
Somersetshire about the ammonites there. I am tempted to
quote one of Scott's word-pictures from Marmioti in which this
and another legend of St. Hilda are enshrined. He speaks of
how the nuns at their evening talk used to tell —

"... how of thousand snakes each one
Has changed into a coil of stone.
When Holy Hilda prayed
Themselves within their holy ground
Their stony folds had often found.
They told how seafowls' pinions fail
As over Whitby's towers they sail,
And sinking down with flutterings faint
They do their homage to the Saint."

Bede tells us that Hilda died on the 15th of the kalends of
December, i.e. 17th November, which is her death-day in the
Calendar. The year of her death, according to Bede, was 680,
and she was probably buried at Hartlepool, as I have argued.
The story told by William of Malmesbury, that her remains,
together with those of St. Aidan and of Ceolfrid the Abbot of
Jarrow, were afterwards removed to Glastonbury by King
Edmund, is, according to Plummer, only part of the great
Glastonbury myth.^ Rudborne makes the same king remove
them to Gloucester,^ while Leland * makes Titus, the abbot of
Glesconia (? Glastonbury), carry them off.^

Hilda was succeeded as abbess of Streonaeshalch by her own
foster-child, the Princess .^Ifieda, the daughter of King Oswy,
who was two years old when they moved together to Whitby.
There, as Bede tells us, she learnt the discipline of the regular
life, and there, on the death of Hilda, she became its abbess
{magistrd).^ On the death of her father, Oswy, in 670, her

^ See Montalevibert, v. 252, note. ' Plummer's Bede, ii. 247 and 248.

3 Atig.Sac, i. 214. •* Col/., iii. p. 36.

° See also Dugdale, Mon., ed. 1655, i. p. 71. « Op. cit. iii. 24.

198 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

mother Eanfleda joined her at Whitby, and they governed the
monastery together.^ Bede, in his history of St. Cuthbert,
speaks of her as the venerable servant of Christ, rifled, who
amid the joys of virginity bestowed the care of motherly tender-
ness on many communities of handmaids of Christ, and grafted
on the stock of royal nobility the higher nobility of consummate
virtue.^ While ^ddi describes her as always the comforter and
best counsellor of the whole province.^

Bede reports, on the authority of a priest of the church at
Lindisfarne, that she was stricken for a long time with a grievous
illness, and was almost at the point of death ; and although her
physicians' efforts were vain, yet divine grace spared her life ; she
could neither walk nor stand, and crawled about on all fours like
a quadruped. One day, her thoughts turning to St. Cuthbert,
she said, " I wish I had something belonging to him ; I should then
soon be better." Cuthbert having heard of this, sent her his
girdle. This she wrapped round her. The next morning she was
able to stand upright, and on the third day was restored to health.
A few days later one of her nuns who had an intolerable pain in
the head was cured by having the same girdle bound round it.
She afterwards put the girdle in Hilda's coffin, whence it dis-
appeared and was never found again. Bede naively argues that
St. Cuthberht had to do with this, as he feared that if such miracles
became widely known the sick would flock thither, and some of
whom would fail to be cured in consequence of their unworthi-
ness, and this would create scepticism as to the girdle's merits.^

Bede also reports an interview which ^Ifleda had with the
same saint, who, on her invitation, took ship, and with some of
his companions went to Coquet Island, at the mouth of the
Coquet in Northumberland, whither she went to meet him.
After putting some questions to him and receiving satisfactory
answers, she fell at his feet and implored him to tell her how
long her brother King Ecgfrid was going to live and rule over
the Angles. He was not anxious to disclose this, and spoke in
rather cryptic terms, but implied that he could only live a year.
This news greatly grieved her, and she then asked who would be
his heir, since he had neither children nor brothers. He con-
soled her by telling her thsit one would come from beyond the
seas whom she might treat as a brother. By this she understood
that Aldfrid, who was reputed to be the son of Ecgfrid's father

^ Bede, iv. 26. ^ Qp^ ^^y^ ^\^^^ 2-3.

3 Vit. VVilf., ch. 60. 4 Yit^ Cuih., ch. 23.

APPENDIX I 199

and had been studying letters for a long time among the Scots,
was meant. As we have seen, Aldfrid did in fact succeed him.
^^Ifleda then turned her conversation to Ecgfrid himself. She
knew that he had wanted to make Cuthberht a bishop, and she was
anxious to know why he preferred his cloister to so dignified a
position. He replied that although he felt himself unworthy of
such a position, he could not resist the decree of the Ruler of
heaven if he so ordered. He was sure, however, that it would only
be for a time, and that in a while he would release him again,
and let him go back to his beloved solitude ; but he begged her
to tell nobody. Having answered her various questions and
instructed her in things about which she had need, he once more
returned to his monastery.^ This was about the year 684.

Two years later, St. Cuthberht again visited her at Osingadum,
now Easington, seven miles from Whitby, where she had built
another monastery. He had gone thither to consecrate a church,
and, as reported by the abbess herself to his biographer, they
dined together, and at the meal his knife fell from his trembling
hand, while his thoughts were elsewhere. Thereupon he play-
fully said, " You wish me to eat all day ; I must rest sometimes."
The fact is, as the story goes, the soul of one of the brethren at
the larger monastery of Whitby was then passing away, and this
had been seen in the spirit by Cuthberht. A messenger who
arrived the next day reported the death of a shepherd named
Hathuwald, who had been killed by falling from a tree, and for
whom the abbess asked the bishop to pray.^

While ^Ifleda was Abbess of Whitby, Trumwine who had
been driven away from his see at Abercorn by the Picts, sought
shelter at Whitby. There, says Bede, with a few of his own
people, he for several years led a life of monastic austerity, not
only to his own benefit, but to that of many, and there he was
buried in the church of St. Peter. . . . When the bishop came
thither, "this divine instructress for God"(/.f. ^Ifleda) found
in him the greatest assistance in governing the nunnery and the
greatest comfort to herself.^

Before the death of King Aldfrid of Northumbria, we are
told that ^.Ifleda his sister pleaded with him on behalf of St.
Wilfrid. This was apparently at the instance of Archbishop
Theodore.'^ According to Aidd'i, when Aldfrid was presently
mortally ill, she was present at his bedside, and afterwards

^ FzV. Cta/i., ch. 24. 2/d. ch. 34.

/J.E., iv. 26. 4 An/e, ii. p. 219.

3

200 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

professed to report one of his dying statements showing his deter-
mination if he got better to make reparation to the Bishop.^ It was
-^Ifleda's report of this remark that did so much to induce the
Northumbrian clergy to treat Wilfrid with more consideration.^

The Whitby monk who wrote the earliest life of St. Gregory
has a curious legend about the discovery of the remains of King
JEdwin at this time. He says there was a brother of our race
named Trimma in a certain monastery of the South Angles
{^Sundarangloruni) in the days of their King ^thelred. At that
time Queen ^onfleda {sic)^ the daughter of King ^dwin, was still
living a monastic life. To Trimma there appeared in a vision a
certain priest, saying, " Go to the place which is in the district
called Hatfield, where ^dwin was killed, and remove his bones
thence and take them to ' Streuneshalac ' {sic)^ which is the monas-
tery of the most famous ^Ifleda, the daughter of the above-named
Queen ^onfleda {sic)y He thereupon replied, " I do not know
the place." Upon which he said, " Go to a certain village
in Lindissi (whose actual name our brother who reported the
story says the Whitby monk had forgotten), and seek out a
certain man called Teoful. He can show you where it is."

Thinking it was only a delusive dream he took no notice of
it, but the same thing having occurred three times, he went to
the man, who pointed out to him where the royal remains
were. The first excavation was unsuccessful, but he succeeded
better on a second trial, found the reUcs and took them to
" Streuneshalac," where, says the Whitby monk, they are now,
with other royal remains, placed in the church of St. Peter to the
south of the altar of St. Peter and the east of that of St. Gregory.^

The mention of yElfleda with her mother in this story con-
firms the statement of Bede, that they at least for a while governed
the Abbey jointly. " Praetrat quidem tunc eidem monasterio
regia virgo Aelbfied (sic) una cum matre Eanfiede.^'' ^

During ^Ifleda's tenure of the Abbey, John, afterwards

Bishop of Hexham, was also an inmate there, and was doubtless

trained under her.^ Father Haigh suggests that she assisted at

the translation of the remains of her old friend St. Cuthberht,

since one of the linen envelopes of his body, which were removed

from it in 1104, was described as "a linen cloth of a double

texture which had enveloped the body of St. Cuthberht : ^Ifleda

the Abbess had wrapped him up in it."

^ Ante, ii. 220. ^ lb. 179 and 180. ^ Op. cit. ch. 18. "* Bede^ iv. 26.
'' See Vit. St. Johannis, Raine {^Historians of York^ i. 244).

APPENDIX I 20 1

The last act reported of St. yl^lfleda was the writing of a
letter preserved among those of St. Boniface and addressed to
an Abbess called Adolana, identified by Mabillon with Adda or
Addula, daughter of Dagobert ii., king of Austrasia, and founder
of a monastery at Pfalzel (Palatiolum, near Treves), over which
she presided for thirty-five years. -^Ifleda commends to her
charity an Abbess who had been a spiritual daughter of her
own from the days of her youth. She had long wished to make
a pilgrimage to Rome, but had hitherto refrained for the sake
of the community over which she presided, but at her persevering
request she had at length yielded.^ Let us hope they were not
anxious to get rid of a tiresome old lady.

St. ^Ifleda died in 713 at the age of fifty-nine,^ and was
buried in the church of St. Peter in the monastery at Streonaeshalch
with her father Oswy, her mother Eanfleda, her mother's father
yEdwin, and many other noble persons.^ As I have already
said, St. Hilda, the founder of the abbey, is conspicuously
absent from this list.* ^Ifleda's death-day in the calendar is
the 8th February.^

Let us now revert shortly to Hackness. According to ^ddi,
when King Aldfrid was mortally ill at Driffield in 705, ^Ifieda,
with another abbess named ^thelburga, visited him. Father
Haigh has argued most plausibly that this ^thelburga was then
probably the Abbess of Hackness, which abbey, as we have seen,
was subordinate to Whitby. On the northern side of the chancel
arch in the church there still remains a stone decorated with inter-
laced serpents forming the capital of a pier, with fragments of a
cross which is preserved in the chancel of St. Peter's chapel. The
capital on the northern pier of the chancel arch of this church
is ornamented with a pattern of intertwined serpents of this date.^
The uppermost fragment has a scroll on the southern side and
a knot on the northern, of the same character as those on the
cross at Bewcastle, and others in Northumbria. On the other side
there are inscriptions in Latin, but so disfigured by blunders as
to make it evident the writer did not understand the language.

^ Mon. Germ. Hist.^ Ep. iii. 248 and 249 ; Haigh, op. cit. 363.

' Annales Lauresk., where she is called Alfreda. * Bede, iii. 24.

* The great abbey of the founder was destroyed by the Danes.

^ Her death is recorded in the Irish Annals, where we read : '* Filia Osui
in Monasteriam lid mo7'itur .'''' The Ulster Annals put it in 712, and Tigher-
nach in 713 (see Plummer, ii. 185).

^ Browne, Theodore and Wilfrid^ 137 and 280, figures one of the fragments
just named.

202 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Of these inscriptions, Haigh says : In the first line we have
certainly the name Oedilburga {i.e. ^thelburga), and to the end
of the fourth line the restoration is indubitable. Then reading T
for S and O for D in the ninth line, and supplying an E in the
fifth, we have Oedilburga beata ad semper te recolant amantes pie
deposcant requie7?i verna?ite7?i sempiternaiji sanctorum pia mater
Apostolica. I quote Bishop Browne's revised reading.

On another fragment, which is defaced on one side and has
the lower extremities of two monsters on another, there is
another inscription in four lines in characters apparently
analogous to Celtic Oghams ; while on the fourth we have the
inscription, Trecea, ora . . . abbatissa Oedilburga orate p{ro
nobis). ^

The name of ^thilburga, as Father Haigh says, immediately
follows that of yElfleda in the Liber Vitae, and John of Walling-
ford, who sometimes has notices which are apparently derived
from some lost early source, calls her a daughter of Adulf, King
of the East Anglians, brother of ^thelwold, the son of Hereswitha
and nephew of Hilda {Aethelwold frater Adulfi patris Ethel-
burgae virginis). Elsewhere he speaks of her as a contemporary of
S. Guthlac and as a daughter of King Eadulf, i.e. Adulf {Eadulfi
regis filia)^ " who first led the life of a female anchorite." She after-
wards, when driven by pressing circumstances {exigentibus causis
necessariis), was constrained to become an abbess, and eventually
died as the Superior of many nuns {sanctivwjiiales)^ after a life of
perpetual virginity.^ The fact that she was a great-niece of St.
Hilda probably accounts for ^thilburga moving from East
Anglia and settling in Yorkshire. The earlier inscription of
^thilburga, or Oedilburga, above quoted is followed by the word
" lica," separated from it, however, by a line, and is therefore (says
Haigh) the beginning of another memorial. He suggests that
it is the termination of a very rare name, Cuoemlicu, which
occurs in the list of queens and abbesses in the Liber Vitae.^

On the opposite side of one of the fragments at Hackness we
have another inscription which, says Haigh, after making the
obvious corrections of N for M in the fourth line, A for Q in the
seventh, suppressing a redundant M in the sixth, and supplying R
in the seventh, reads — Hiiaetburga, semper tenent memores domus
tuae te mater amatissima. " The memories of thy house always

^ Browne, op. cit. 281 ; Haigh reads Trece[ab]osa.
^ Yorks. Arch. Journ., iii. 373-74.

Seal of Archdeacon 1^onifa( e.

DEDILBV
BEATAA^

EMPERT

CLDLAI^^
MDRF^■^ PI

( iE]LP AN

IF

,r M

Memorial of OFAnh-BVRC.A.—See />aoe 202.

A Memorial to Trkcca. (/d.)

1 ; '(}/. III., facingp. 202.

A
MPERl

TE ME NT
MEMCRE^

RET EM ATE

AMANTIS
iiMA

-Mkmokiai. of [n(:A]i:TB(L-K)(;A.

fe^

-0

<

>>
c

A.

K

.1.

Base of O win's Ckos^,.— See pa <;e 218.

[ Kd?/. ///. , facing p 202.

APPENDIX I 203

hold thee dearest Mother."^ We can hardly doubt that she also
was an Abbess of Hackness, or she would hardly have been thus
commemorated there. I think it very probable that she is the
same abbess on whose behalf St. yKlfleda wrote the letter above
quoted to St. Boniface. It would seem, in fact, that she was also
a daughter of Aldwulf, or Eadulf, King of the East Angles, and a
sister of ^thilburga just named. Like Eadburga, the Abbess of
Repton, of whom we have written earlier,^ she occurs with her
name spelt in a different way. In a letter written to Archbishop
Eoniface by her with her name spelt Egburga, she describes herself
as lowlier than any of his male and female disciples, and addresses
him by his original name, Wynfrith. In it he is called an abbot.
(It must therefore have been written before he became bishop,
and when he was still Abbot of Nutshell, i.e. in 717-718.) She
says, "The tempest-tossed mariner does not so much long for
the haven, the thirsty fields do not so much desire the showers,
the mother does not so anxiously wait for her son on the winding
shore, as I desire to enjoy the sight of thee," and adds that he
had taken the place in her affections of her brother, Oshere,
whose death, which happened many years before, she still con-
tinued to feel. She then goes on to speak of another and more
recent loss, namely, that of her dear sister, Withburga, with whom
she had been brought up, having been nursed at the same breast
and having had one mother in the Lord. She had been removed
from her, not because of her death, but of their bitter separation.
"Now,"' she says, "a prison confines her in the Roman city,"
meaning apparently that she was inaccesible there. The letter
closes with a message from her amanuensis called Ealdberht, who
reminds Boniface of their ancient friendship, and asks for his
prayers.^ As Father Haigh remarks, the fact of her name not
occurring in the Liher Vitae points to her having died abroad and
probably at Rome. In another letter written by Boniface to an
"Abbess Bugga," who had apparently complained of the interfer-
ence of the secular clergy with her, he adds, " If you cannot on their
account have the freedom of a quiet mind, in your own country,
it seems better that you should gain liberty of contemplation by
a pilgrimage if you wish and can arrange it as our sister With-
burga^ who has intimated to me by her letters that she found just
such a quiet life as she had long desired and sought, at the
threshold of Peter."'* The mention of Withburga in this letter

^ Of the initial name, Huaetburga, the letters . . . etb . . . ga still remain.
2 Ante^ ii. 414. ^ Mon. Germ. HisL, Ep. iii. p. 259. ^ lb. p. 277.

204 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

suggests that Bngga may be here used as a playful name for
Egburga, just as it is similarly used as a pet name for Heaburg
(Heaburg cog?iomento Buggae) in another of the letters of Boniface
(cf, p. 261).

Bede also mentions a monastery of virgins at a place called
Wetadun, probably Watton in Yorkshire, half-way between
Driffield and Beverley, over which the Abbess Heriburga pre-
sided.^ On one occasion it was visited by John, the Bishop of
York, when he was warmly welcomed by the abbess and nuns.
One of the latter, who, says Bede, was the daughter of the abbess
(according to the flesh), and whose^name was Quenburga, had been
lately bled, and while engaged in study was seized with a sudden
pain, and her arm swelled so much that it could hardly be grasped
with both hands, and she seemed about to die. The abbess
entreated the Bishop to bless her. He asked when she had
been bled, and being told it was on the 4th day of the moon,
replied that they had done ill to bleed her on that day, for he
remembered the Archbishop saying that it was very dangerous to
bleed people at that season, for the moon and tide were then in-
creasing. He then asked what he could do for her. She per-
suaded him to go in to her daughter, who she intended should
be her successor, and say a prayer over her. The story was
reported by a certain Bercthun, the Bishop's deacon, and in
Bede's time Abbot of the Monastery of Derawude (in Latin,
Silva Deroru?H, i.e. the wood of the Deiri),^ who said he had
been told by the virgin herself that in consequence of the prayer
her arm had been completely cured.

We will now turn to another family of secluded ladies. This
claimed St. /Ebbe for its initial Mother. St. yEbbe is called
the uterine sister of the Northumbrian King Oswy by Bede in
his History of St. Cuthberht {soror uterina regis Oswy).^ Mr.
Plummer understands the phrase as meaning that they had the
same mother {i.e. Acha, sister of ^Edwin), but not the same
father, and that therefore she was not the daughter of King
iEthelfrid. I think it more probable that he meant by it that
she was the sister of Oswy on her mother's, as well as her father's
side, and not like some other sons of iEthelfrid, who were only
her half-brothers.

* y^lred of Rivaulx says it was situated among marshes.
^ See Bede^ v. 2 ; A.-S. Chron.y sub an. 685. It was afterwards called
Beverley, and Bercthun was its first abbot. Act. Sand., May, iii. 503.
^ Op. cit. ch. 10.

APPENDIX I 205

It is pretty certain, on the accession of King iEdwin, that
she escaped to Scotland with the other members of /Ethelfrid's
family. According to the Aberdeen Breviary, she was there
protected by Domnall Breac, who reigned trover Dalriada from
629-642. Capgrave, who was such an inventor of impossible
legends, says she was sought in marriage by Aidan, King of the
Scots. As he died in 606, that is, ten years before her father's
death, and when her mother had only been married three years,
this does not seem probable. He further says she was baptized
by St. Finan, which is another of his unauthorised statements.
It is almost certain that she in fact became a Christian in
Scotland at the same time as her brothers Oswald and Oswy.

Presently she adopted a religious life. We are told that her
brother Oswy gave her a small Roman camp near the Derwent on
the west of the county of Durham, where she founded a monastery.
The place was afterwards called Ebchester, after her, and the
church there is still dedicated to her.^ This story may, in fact,
have arisen, as others have, from the dedication being to her.
What is much more certain is that she founded another and a
more famous monastery at Coldingham on the coast of Berwick-
shire, of which she became the Abbess. Her name remains
attached to the rocky promontory close by known as St. Abb's
Head. Coldingham is called Coludi urbs by Bede,^ and Smith,
the editor of Bede, identifies it with the Colana of Ptolemey and
rejects the notion of some of the older antiquaries, who derived
its name from the Culdees, as etymologically most improb-
able, ^bbe was there visited on her own invitation by St.
Cuthberht, who spent a few days with her, no doubt instructing
the community. Bede tells a story that while the rest of the
community were asleep, he used to go out alone and spend the
greater part of the night in prayer and prolonged vigils, nor
would he return till the hour of common prayer was at hand.
One night he was followed stealthily by one of the brothers, who
reported how Cuthberht had gone down to the sea, above which
on a height there rose the monastery. He entered the water
till it reached his arms and neck, and thus spent some time in
singing psalms, which we are told were accompanied by the
sound of the waves. At dawn he came ashore and concluded
his prayers, kneeling on the beach. As he was doing this on
one occasion, there came two otters {iutrae), really seals, from

^ See Tanner, NoL Mon. Dunehn.y vi. ; and Surtees, Durham^ ii. 301.
Hardy's Catalogue^ 289-290. 2 Qp^ ^^^ jy^ j^.

2o6 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

the sea and began to warm his feet with their breath and to
wipe them dry with their hair, after which the Saint gave them
his blessing and returned to the monastery to keep the canonical
hours. Cuthberht having noticed that he had been observed, told
the monk who had followed him that he forgave him on condition
of his telling no one about it until after his death, a promise
which he duly kept.^

At Coldingham she was also visited by iEtheldrytha, daughter
of King Anna of East Anglia, the tiresome wife of the North-
umbrian King Ecgfrid, son of Oswy, who was of course iEbbe's
nephew. She became a professed nun there, having, as we
have seen, taken the veil from Bishop Wilfrid.^ She only stayed
a year, and then returned to her old home in East Anglia.
Presently Queen Eormenburga (probably the lurminburg of the
Liber Vitae)^ the second wife of Ecgfrid, also paid a visit to
Coldingham, where she fell ill. ^Ebbe the Abbess attributed it,
according to iEddi, to Ecgfrid's treatment of Wilfrid, and further
tells us that she thereupon wrote a sharp letter to the king, who
released Wilfrid from custody ; after which his wife recovered.^

About the year 679 the monastery at Coldingham, which was
doubtless entirely constructed of wood, was completely burnt,
through carelessness {per culpam tncuriae\ says Bede. He then
adds a very cryptic sentence, in which he seems to attribute the
disaster to the evil lives of the inmates, and that it might have
been averted if they had amended their ways and been penitent.
The monastery was a double one, that is to say, both for men and
women. Among the monks was a certain Scot, called, like the
famous abbot of lona, Adamnan, who lived a most austere life,
only taking food on Sundays and Thursdays and often spending
whole nights in prayer. He had adopted this painful life in
order to cure himself of certain evil propensities which had led
him into wickedness when young. This he did at the instance
of an Irish priest whom he had consulted.

It happened that on a certain day, having been for a long walk
from the monastery with a companion, they were returning, and
as they drew near home again, Adamnan broke into tears when
they approached the lofty buildings of the monastery. On being
asked why he did this, he .said that in a short time the Abbey
buildings would be burnt down. His companion told iEbbe,
who questioned him. He replied how he had been visited by

^ Vii. Anon. Culh., par. 13 ; Bede, ViL^ ch. 10.

3 Bede, /I.E., iv. 19. a Vit. Wilf., ch. 39.

APPENDIX I 207

a vision which had congratulated him on having found him en-
gaged in his devotions, for, he said, I have visited all the different
parts of the monastery and looked into everyone's chambers and
beds and have found no one but yourself busy about the care
of his soul, but all of them, both men and women, were either
engaged in slothful sleep or awake in order to commit sin {aut ad
peccata vtgila?it). For even the cells {domunculae) that were built
for i)raying or reading had been converted into places of feasting,
drinking, talking, and other luxuries ; and the virgins dedicated
to God, laying aside the respect due to their profession, when
they had leisure, devoted themselves to weaving fine garments
{texendis subtilioribus i7idu?}ie7ttis) either to adorn themselves like
brides {ad vice7n sp07isaru7ii) or to gain the attention of strange
men {aut exter7iorum sibi viroru77i a7?iidtia77i C077ipare7it). He said
all this would lead to the place being destroyed by fire from
heaven. The Abbess rebuked him for not having let her know
what was going on. His story having been spread abroad, the
inmates of the monastery amended their ways for a while, but
after the Abbess's death they returned to their former filthy con-
versations and became even more wicked {redierunt ad pristinas
sordes, (7717710 sceleratiora feceruTit). Bede says he was told all this
by his fellow-priest, ^dgils, who then lived in the monastery, and
who after the fire removed to Bede's monastery and died there.^

^bbe is said to have died on 21st August 683, and was com-
memorated on August 25th. ^ In the eleventh century her relics
were translated from Coldingham to Durham. They were among
those which the famous sacrist, Alured, son of Weslowe, carried
off from their several resting-places to enrich the great depository
of relics at Durham. Symeon of Durham says that that worthy
had a divine commission to hunt them out. Among them were the
remains of ^bbe and ^thelgytha,^ both Abbesses of Coldingham.^
These remains are not mentioned in the register of Richard de
Segbrok, and may have been returned at a later time. He does,
however, mention " a piece of cloth which St. yEbbe gave to
St. Cuthberht, in which he lay for 418 years and 5 months."^

The loose morals prevailing at Coldingham during yEbbe's
Abbacy, as testified by Bede, may be matched by what is stated
in a document quoted by Ivo (an indifferent guide, no doubt). The
document itself is obviously dubious, but it shows what the famous

^ Bede, iv. 25. ' Her name occurs in the Liber Vitae of Durham.

' The latter's name occurs in the Liber Vilae in the form ESelgytha.

■* Raine, Thi Priory of Hexham ^ i. 53. ^ Raine's St. Cuthberht^ 123.

2o8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Roman Catholic canonist deemed was possible in those days of
very lax administration in monasteries. It claims to be an abstract
of a letter from Pope John iv. (24th December 640 to nth
October 642) to Bulcred, king of the Saxons, who is otherwise
unknown. In this the Pope is made to say that he had heard how
fornication was rife among his people, so that nuns {sanctimoniales)
and women devoted to God, and others who were within the
prohibited decrees as defined by St. Gregory, were wont to
marry, which acts the Pope proceeds to vigorously condemn.^

In an earlier page we have described a monastery situated on
the Scotch Tine in Lothian and known as Tinemouth.^ Bede
tells us that originally it was a community of men, but in after
times became one of virgins, who greatly flourished in his time.^
In a later page he tells us of a miracle performed there by
St. Cuthberht, who paid a visit to the nunnery when the Abbess
was a certain Verca. Having risen from his noonday rest he
felt thirsty and asked for something to drink. The nuns asked
him whether he would have wine or beer. He said he would
have water, which they accordingly drew from the fountain.
Having given the benediction, he drank a little and handed it
to his priest, who gave it to the attendant. The latter asked to
be allowed to drink from the cup from which the bishop had
drunk. He happened to be the priest of the community. The
water seemed to him to have acquired the taste of wine.
Wishing that a brother who was standing by should also be a
witness of the miracle, he handed him the cup. He confirmed
the fact, and they both agreed they had never tasted better wine.
This story Bede claims to have heard from a monk of his own
monastery at Wearmouth, who had been present.

When the city of Carlisle, then called Lugubalia, with its
environs, was made over to St. Cuthberht, the latter founded a
community of nuns under an Abbess there, and established
a school {sanctimonialium congregatione stahilita^ reginatn dato
habitu religionis consecravit^ et in profectum divinae serviiutis scholas
instituii)^ The Abbess, according to Bede, was the sister of

^ Ivo, Decreta^ vii. ch. 130; Mansi, Con,^ x. 687; Jaffe, No. 1585;
Migne, Pat. Lat., vol. 161, col. 574.

2 Ante, i. 83. ^ y^^^ ^^^ Cttth., ch. iii.

* Symeon of Durham, i. 9. He here clearly tells us that St. Cuthberht
consecrated the Queen {i.e. Eormenburga) as a nun there. This was doubt-
less after the death of Ecgfrid {reginain dato habitu religionis consecravit) ;
op. cit. i. 9. Bede ( Vit. Cuth.^ 27), speaking of Ecgfrid, calls the monastery
at Carlisle, " Mojiasteritwi suae sororis."

APPENDIX I 209

Ecgfrid, King of Northumbria. It was while Queen Eormenbiirga
was staying there with her sister-in-law that Cuthberht foresaw
the death of her husband, King Ecgfrid, among the Picts.^

In Bedc's time there was also a monastery at Dacore or
Dacre, near the river of the same name which falls into the Eamont,
and, flowing out of Lake Ullswater, separates Cumberland from
Westmoreland. Its first Abbot was named Suidberht.^

We will now turn to Mercia. Montalembert says : " Of all
the races descended from Odin who shared among them the
sway of Englarid, no one has presented a larger list of nuns and
saints to be inscribed on the national calendar than the descend-
ants of Penda, the ravager and man of fire, as if they thus meant
to pay a generous ransom for the calamities inflicted upon the
new Christians of England by their cruel enemy." ^ It is a very
remarkable fact that all the children of the great champion
of paganism, Penda, became Christians, and that his two
daughters both became nuns, namely, Cyniburga, who married
Alchfrid, King of Northumbria, and Cynesuitha.'' The names of
the two sisters, as we shall see, occur on the Bewcastle Cross.
After the death of Alchfrid, they retired to Mercia. There, ac-
cording to the appendix to Florence of Worcester, their brothers
Wulfhere and ^thelred built a monastery for them at Caistor on
the Nene in Northamptonshire and not far from Peterborough,
which, according to Florence of Worcester, was afterwards
called KifteburgcB Castnim.^ It was originally named Dormund-
caster.^ " Caistor is famous," says Bishop Browne, " for its
noble church and its ancient remains. A ridge in Caistor Field
is still called Cunnyburrow's Way. The dedication of the church
is to St. Cyniburga, and it is said to be unique."'' Cynesuitha
became a nun at the monastery of Caistor, of which her sister was
the Abbess. They were commemorated together as saints there,
and on the 6th March about the year 1006 their remains were
translated to Peterborough by Abbot ^Ifsige. Bishop Browne

1 See Bede, H.E., iv. 28.

^ H.E., iv. chap, xxxii. ' Op. cit. v. 267.

* Cynesuitha is said in the appendices to Florence of Worcester to have
persuaded Offa, the son of Sighere, king of the East Saxons, who was in love
with her, to give her up and to go to Rome {M.H.B., 637), or as William of
Malmesbury puts it: Edoctus amores inutare in melius {G.P.y iv. par. 180 •
G./^., i. par. 98). Stubbs has pointed out this story involves an anachronism
{Diet, of Chr. Biog., iv. 68). It is obviously due to some mystification.

5 M.H.B., 638. « Hardy, Cat. Brit. Hist., i. 370.

' Her name occurs in the Liber Vitae of Durham.
VOL. III. — 14

210 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

suggests that the famous early stone shrine shaped hke a
reliquary and having a row of figures all round, which is preserved
at Peterborough, may, as has been supposed, have contained their
relics.^ If so, it must itself be of later date. The two sisters
are mentioned in the forged foundation charter of Peterborough
Abbey, which dates from the twelfth century and is of no value. ^

According to John of Tynemouth, the two sisters just
named had a relative called Tibba or Tilba, who also became
a nun. Camden says she was honoured with particular devotion
at Ryal, a town near the Guash, in Rutlandshire.^

West of Mercia was the sub-kingdom of the Hecanas,
which answers to the modern county of Hereford. Its first
ruler was Merwald, son of Penda, who married Eormen-
burga, styled also Domneva (? Domna Ebba), the niece of
Ecgberht, king of Kent.^ She had several daughters who
became saints. The eldest of these was Milburga, who built
a nunnery at Wenlock, then called Winwick, and undertook the
office of Abbess, to which she was consecrated by Archbishop
Theodore.^ It was reported of her that having refused to marry,
she was delivered from the violent attack of a rejected suitor at
a place called Stoches, by a miraculous rising of the river Corf.
Among the miracles attributed to her was the not infrequent one
of hanging her veil on a sunbeam. She died at the age of sixty
in 722, her death-day being the 15th of June. Harpsfeld, who
consulted her unpublished life, however, gives it as the 23rd of
February, on which day she occurs in the Hereford Missal. She
was buried at Wenlock, and many miracles are reported of her
in a work written by Odo. (He has been identified, says Stubbs,
with the Cardinal of Ostia, 1088-1101 ; but Fabricius recognises
him more probably as Odo, Prior of Canterbury, who became
Abbot of Battle in 11 75.) William of Malmesbury tells us that
the site of her devastated monastery was made over to the Cluniac
Monks by Roger de Montgomery. Her tomb was discovered
during the rebuilding of the monastery by a boy running over
the site and its roof breaking in. The identity with the saint's
grave was deduced from the aromatic scent that proceeded from
it and by the wonderful cures performed by her remains.^ These
relics were translated in the year iioi. In the history of her

^ Tke Conversion of the Heptarchy^ 209-21 1.

^ A.-S.Chron.^ MS. E, ad aft. 657.

3 Hardy, Cat.^ i. 370. * Ante, p. 249.

^ Stubbs, Diet, of Chr. Biog., ii. 913. ^ G.F.y iv. 3 and 67.

AlTExNDIX 1 211

miracles, already cited, it is said that a certain Raimund, working
in the Church of the Holy Trinity, found a document in which
the place of her burial had been described by a priest named
Alstan, and that her coffin was bound with iron " after the manner
of the English."^ The churches of Stoke St. Milburgh at
Beckbury in Shropshire, of Wixford in Warwickshire, and
Offenham in Worcestershire, were dedicated to her.^ Dugdale
also speaks of her cult at a place in Wales named " Landmy-
lien," which name he derives from hers.^

In one of the letters of Archbishop Boniface, written to
Eadburga, the Abbess of Thanet, about the year 717, he reports
the visions of a monk who had recently died in the monastery
of St. Milburga at Wenlock, and which had been described to
him by Hildelitha, Abbess of Barking. He calls them stupend-
ous visions. In them he professed to have been very grievously
ill, till his spirit was released from the ties of the flesh, and he
saw as in one picture all the lands, and seas, and peoples of the
earth, and a multitude of resplendent angels who sang in concert
— " Do mine, ne in ira tua arguas me neque in furore tuo
corripias me'' They bore him upwards through the air, and he
noticed that surrounding the earth there were great circles of
flaming fire which withdrew from them when the angels made
the sign of the cross, while he himself was protected from the
fire by the angels putting their hands on his head. Beside the
angels he also saw a vast crowd of disembodied human souls,
and of malignant spirits who fought with the angels for their
possession, and he himself heard the recital of all the faults
of commission and omission he had committed in his worldly
life, each one being personified and accusing him, as did
his sins. Among others, he saw a man whom he himself had
wounded when he was still wearing secular dress, and whose blood
cried against him. On the other hand, he was given credit for
such good things as he had done. He further noticed great open
pits in which were fires, amidst which human spirits in the shape
of black birds howled and cried piteously, and flew hither and
thither. One of the angels remarked to him that God on the
judgment day would relieve these souls from their punishment,

^ Stubbs, op. cit. ; Diet, of Chr. Biog., iii. 913.

^ Parker, Ang. Ch. Calendar, p. 262.

' Op. cit., ed. 1655, 613. Miss Arnold-Forster says that the church at
Much Wenlock was formerly dedicated to her, and the fair there is still held
on the second Monday in March, St. Milburga's day.

2 1 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

and grant them perpetual peace. Lower still were other fiery
de[)ths, in which the spirits were also piteously wailing. Here,
said the angel, are the souls for whom there is no hope. He
also had a view elsewhere of " the Paradise of God," where every-
one was joyful, and from which a sweet fragrance proceeded.
Over the fiery depths was placed a wooden bridge, across which
the departed souls had to pass. Others of them could not do so,
however, and fell into the fiery flood ; others, again, waded, some up
to their knees, others up to their shoulders. These, he was told,
were the souls of those who had committed lesser faults. On the
other side of the fiery torrent he saw the resplendent walls of the
heavenly Jerusalem, whither the disembodied souls wended after
crossing the river. Inter alia, he saw a struggle for the soul of an
Abbot between the fiends and the angels, and he also professed to
have seen the torments which King Ceolfrid of Mercia was suffering
in the next world for his various evil deeds. ^ These I have
described on an earlier page.

A more famous (and also a double monastery) existed in Mercia
at Repton in Staffordshire, which became the burial-place of several
of the Mercian kings. It was formerly known as Hreopadun.
It is a pity we know so little about it. It is first mentioned
in the life of St. Guthlac by Felix, who calls the community "a
catholic congregation." Guthlac became a monk there in the
time of its first recorded Abbess, who was called ^Ifthrytha,
otherwise Elfthritha or Elfrida, and who perhaps founded it about
697. We do not know who she was, but probably she could
claim royal birth. She is named in a letter written by Waldhere,
Bishop of London, to Archbishop Beorhtwald. In this letter
reference is made to a Council called together by King Coenred
of Mercia, to which his Bishops and grandees were summoned to
discuss " the reconciliation of ^^Ifdryda " {sic).^ What this recon-
ciliation refers to we do not know, the whole matter is a mystery.
When Guthlac was old, the Abbey of Repton was under another
Abbess, perhaps her sister, named Eadburga (daughter of King
Aldwulf of East Anglia), who is reported by Felix to have sent
him a leaden coffin and a linen winding-sheet. I have described
her dealings with St. Guthlac on an earlier page.^ Wallingford
calls her ^thelburga. It would seem that she in later times
joined her sister at Hackness and was buried there.*

* Mon. Germ. Hist.^ Epist. iii. 252-57.

^ Iladdan and Stubbs, iii. 275. She is mentioned in the Liber Vitae of
Durham. ^ Ante, ii. 414. * Ante, iii. 202.

APPENDIX I 213

Let us now turn to ^^^thcldrytha, generally known as Saint
Audrey, whom we left at Coldingham.^ According to Thomas
of Ely,2 her husband, King Ecgfrid, whom she had deserted, was
determined to take her away by force from the convent of
Coldingham where she had sheltered, a fact not mentioned by
Eede. She therefore made up her mind to escape and to return
to East Anglia, where she had a great possession in the Isle of Ely.
She set out accompanied by two companions named Sewenna
and Sewera, and was pursued by the King. She did not go far,
but climbed a hill near a place called Coldebur Chesheved,
W'hich, says the Ely historian, means in Latin Caput Coldebirti.
This she climbed and was supplied with food by the country
people and hid away for seven days, while a spring of water
sprang up in a very arid place to furnish her with water. The
biographer relates as a miraculous fact that the impressions of her
feet as she went up and descended the mountain were afterwards
shown in the solid rock, and looked as if made in wax {infusa
ta7iqim?n in calida cerd). Setting out with her companions she
reached the river Humber, and arrived at the port of Wyntryng-
ham, a parish in the northern division of the wapentake of
Manley, in the county of Lincoln, 7 J miles from Barton. Thence
she went on for ten "stadia" farther, and stopped at a village called
Alfham (Raine says Altham, also called Alftham). There she
stayed a few days and built a church, doubtless of wood. Then she
went on again and lay down to rest in a shady place and planted
her walking-stick in the ground. In the morning it had sprouted
and presently grew into a great ash tree, the largest in that country.
The place, says Thomas of Ely, is still called pausatio Etheldredae.
There she built another church to the memory of the Blessed Virgin.

At length, after their long journey, ^theldrytha with her
companions (they included a priest named Huna, formerly a monk,
who had accompanied her and who became a saint) reached her
own patrimony, the marriage gift presented to her by her first
husband, namely, the Isle of Ely. It is described by Bede as
situated in the land of the East Angles and as containing about
600 families {i.e. hides). It formed, he says, a kind of island
enclosed by marshes, or waters, and was so named from the
number of eels which were taken in the adjoining marshes.^

^ Anfe, iii. 206.

^ Thomas of Ely says she was born at Ermynge, now Ixminge, in Suffolk
{Aug. Sac, i. 597).
^ Bedey iv. 19.

2 14 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

This simple etymology did not satisfy its historian, Thomas of
Ely, who says it was derived from two Hebrew words, El (God)
and Ge (earth), proving that he was innocent of any knowledge
of Greek as well as Hebrew. An anonymous writer apostro-
phises the attractions of the place at a later time in some not
unmusical lines :

Haec sunt Elyae, Lanterna, Capella Mariae,
Atque Molendinum, multuin dans vinea Vinum.
Coniinet insontes^ quos valiant undique pontes.
Hos ditant inontes ; nee desunt Jlumina, fontes.
Nofneti ab anguilla ducit Ittsula nobilis ilia.

[Ang. Sac, i. 592.)

A very late legend, quite unsupported by any early author,
tells us that St. Augustine himself planted a church in the
island at a place called Cradendene {i.e. Vallis Crati), a mile
from the present town of Ely, which was destroyed and desolated
by Penda.i ^theldrytha herself built a church on a deserted
place in the island. There, with the assistance of her brother
Aldwulf, she also planted a double monastery, one for men and
the other for women, which she dedicated to St. Mary. Over this
she presided as Abbess, and where she received her old friend
Si. Wilfrid.2 Bede says it was reported of her that from the
time of her entering the convent she never wore any linen, but
only woollen garments, and rarely washed in a hot bath {in
calidis balneis), except just before the great festivals of Easter,
Whitsuntide, and the Epiphany, and then she was the last to
enter the bath after she had helped to wash all the other servants
of God in it. She seldom ate more than once a day except on
the great solemnities, or on urgent occasions, or when seriously
ill. From matins she continued in church till daybreak, unless
when suffering from some severe infirmity. She was said to
have prophesied the coming of the plague by which she was to
die, and the number of those who would perish in her convent.
She died on the 23rd of June in 679, seven years after she had
become Abbess, and, as she had ordered, she was buried in a
wooden coffin and laid in the cemetery in the regular succession
in which she had died, and was not honoured by a special
sepulchre.^ She was succeeded in the office of Abbess by her

^ Thomas of Ely, Ang. Sac., i. 594 and 599. ^ II). i. 599.

^ Bede, iv. 19. She was buried by Iluna {vide ante), who afterwards
became an anchorite on a small island in the marsh near Ely, which was

APPENDIX I 215

sister Sexburga, who had been the wife of Earconberht, king of
Kent. When /Etheldrytha had been buried sixteen years, i.e.
in 695, Sexburga took up her remains with the intention of
removing them into the church. She accordingly ordered the
brethren to provide a suitable stone with which to make a tomb.
Bede says they set out in a boat {asce?isa navi) because the
country of Ely {regio Elye) was on every side encompassed with
the sea or marshes, and contained no large stones. Presently
they came to an abandoned town not far thence, which in the
Anglian language was called Grantchester (now a small village
near Cambridge, occupying the site of a Roman town), and there,
close to the city wall, they found a white marble coffin very
beautifully wrought and covered with a lid of the same material.
This they took back to the monastery.

When if^theldrytha's wooden coffin was opened, we are told
by Bede that her body was found as free from corruption as if
she had died and been buried that very day. This was attested,
he adds, by Bishop Wilfrid and many others who knew about it.
Among them was Cynifrid the physician, who had operated upon
a swelling under her jaw when she was living, in order to let out the
noxious matter. He reported that " when the body was taken out
of the grave and put in a position close by, and while all the con-
gregation of the brethren were on one side and that of the sisters
on the other, standing around and singing, the Abbess with a
few others having gone on to wash the remains, I heard the
corpse say, ' Glory be to the name of the Lord.' Not long
after they called me in, and I saw the body of the Holy Virgin
taken out of the grave and laid on a bed as if it had been asleep.
Then taking a veil from her face, they showed me the incision
I had made, which had healed up, so that instead of a gaping
wound, there was only a slender scar. The linen clothes in
which the body had been wrapped looked as fresh and perfect as
if they had only just been placed about her chaste limbs."

Cynifrid added that the dead Abbess used to say that
the trouble in her neck had arisen because she had there
borne the needless weight of jewels. By having had this
pain in this world, she trusted to be relieved from the future
punishment due to her levity, and said that where she had
had gold and pearls, a red and burning boil grew on her neck.
It was reported that by the touch of her garments devils were

called Huneya after him. His miracles became famous, and therefore
valuable, and his remains were removed to Thorney Island ^Ang. Sac, i. 600).

2i6 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

expelled from possessed bodies and other disorders were some-
times cured ; while by touching the coffin in which she was first
buried, with their heads, suffering men were said to have been
cured of diseases of the eyes. Having washed the body, the
virgins put it in new clothes, carried it into the church, and laid
it in the marble sarcophagus, which had been taken with due
ceremony thither. The body just fitted it, and there was after-
wards a hollow where it had lain.^

" The present stately fane of Ely," says Mr. Raine, " owes its
existence to the renown of St. iEtheldryda, who was regarded as
one of the greatest of the mediaeval saints." The church she
had constructed perished in the Danish inroad of 866-7, but
the marauders did no harm to the coffin. The building was
restored about a century afterwards by King Edgar, when it
became a home of Benedictine monks and by degrees acquired
great estates. In 1107 the see of Ely was founded, and its long
series of abbots came to an end. One of the last official acts of
Richard, the last abbot, was the translation of St. ^theldrytha's
remains to the Norman church he had built. This was in the
presence of the Bishop of Thetford and a great concourse of
people. 2 William of Malmesbury says that when her tomb was
then opened, the body was found intact and she looked as if she
was sleeping. The silken covering to her head, her veil and
garments were all intact, her cheeks were flushed, her teeth
white, her lips a little shrunk, and her breasts small.^ Over her
old marble tomb was now raised a richly ornamented wooden
shrine, which was carried about on festival days. In 1144 the
monks stripped the shrine of much of its silver work in order
to meet the pecuniary necessities of Bishop Nigel, who later
gave them the Manor of Hadstock for the purpose of ornament-
ing and repairing the shrine, and it was afterwards much enriched
by Bishops Redel and de Burgh. In 1235 Bishop Northwold,
who built the splendid choir, erected a new shrine for iEtheldrytha
and the other Saints of the House in the presbytery. Of this
a sketch is still preserved. The shrine was destroyed at the
Reformation.'*

William of Malmesbury reports a curious miracle of her.
When the Danes devastated the church, one of them marched
off with the rich covering of her tomb and then struck the latter

^ Bede, iv. 191.

^ Thomas of Ely, Ang. Sacra, i. 613 ; Diet, of Chr. Biog., ii. 221.

' G.P., p. 325. ■* Diet, of Chr. Biog., ii. 221.

APPENDIX I 217

with his two-headed axe. This made a hole in it, but a fragment
flew off, struck him on the eye and knocked him senseless.
Some time after, one of the secular priests attached to the mon-
astery wanting to make sure that the body of the saint was not
corrupted, inserted a candle into the hole just named, and tried
to drag her garments through it ; but the saint herself pulled them
back so as to cover her naked body. He was punished by
becoming half-witted.^

Bede wrote a poem on St. ^theldrytha which he inserts in
his Ecclesiastical History^ and in which pagan allusions are inter-
spersed with Christian ones. I think it should find a place here
as a specimen of his own versification in Latin, which our first
historian thought worthy of being preserved in his great work.
It runs thus :

*' Alma Deus Trinitas, quae secula cuncta gubemas,
Adnue jam coeptis, alma Deus Trinitas.
Bella Marc resonet, nos pacis dona canamus :
Munera nos Christi, bella Maro resonet.
Carmina casta mihi, foedae non raptus Helenae,
Luxus erit lubricis, carmina casta mihi.
Dona superna loquar, miserae non praelia Trojae
Terra quibus gaudet : dona superna loquar.
En Deus altus adit venerandae Virginis alvum:
Liberet ut homines en Deus altus adit.
Femina Virgo parit mundi devota Parentem,
Porta Maria Dei, femina Virgo parit.
Gaudet arnica cohors, de Virgine matre Tonantis :
Virginitate micans gaudet arnica cohors.
Hujus honor genuit casto de germine plures,
Virgineos flores hujus honor genuit.
Ignibus usta feris Virgo non cessat Agatha,
Eulalia et perfert ignibus usta feris.
Casta feras superat mentis pro culmine Tecla,
Euphcmia sacra casta feras superat.
Laeta ridet gladios ferro robustior Agnes,
Caecilia infestos laeta ridet gladios,
Multus in orbe viget per sobria corda triumphus,
Sobrietatis amor multus in orbe viget.
Nostra quoque egregia jam tempora virgo beavit :
Aedilthryda nitet nostra quoque egregia
Orta patre eximio, regali et stemmate clara :
Nobilior Domino est, orta patre eximio.
Percipit inde decus reginae, et sceptra sub astris,
Plus super astra manens, percipit inde decus.
Quid petis alma virum, Sponso jam dedita summo?

^William of Malmesbury, 6*./*., 323 and 324.

2 1 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Sponsus adest Christus, quid petis alma virum ?

Regis ut aetherei malrem jam credo sequaris :

Tu quoque sis mater Regis ut aetherei.

Sponsa dicata Deo bis sex regnaverat annis,

Inque monasterio est sponsa dicata Deo.

Tota sacrata polo celsis ubi floruit actis

Reddidit atque animam tota sacrata polo.

Virginis alma caro est tumulata bis octo Novembres,

Nee putet in tumulo virginis alma caro.

Christe, tui est operis, quia vestis et ipsa sepulchro

Inviolata nitet : Christe, tui est operis.

Hydros et ater abit sacrae pro vestis honore,

Morbi dififugiunt, hydros et ater abit

Zelus in hoste furit quondam qui vicerat Evam :

Virgo triumphat ovans, zelus in hoste furit.

Aspice nupta Deo, quae sit tibi gloria terris ;

Quae maneat caelis aspice nupta Deo.

Munera laeta capis festivis fulgida taedis,

Ecce venit Sponsus, munera laeta capis.

Et nova dulcisono modularis carmina plectro :

Sponsa hymno exultas et nova dulcisono.

Nullus ab Altithroni comitatu segregat agni,

Quam affectu tulerat nullus ab Altithroni."^

It will be noted that the poem is an experiment in verse-
making, in which the same clause of three words occurs in each
two of the successive Hnes.

When St. Chad went to Lastingham there went with him
a certain notable person called Wini or Owin, who employed
himself in manual labour outside the monastery. He
had been born in the kingdom of East Anglia, and had ac-
companied ^Etheldrytha when she went to marry King Ecgfrid
in 660, as steward of her household. Bede, iv. 3, calls him
pri7nus mmistrorum et princeps dofnus ejus, which in the Anglo-
Saxon version is translated " the chief of her thanes and house
and of all her ealdormen." On the death of St. Chad he ap-
parently returned to Ely, and is reported to have lived at
Winford, near Haddenham. Bishop Browne says that some years
ago the base of the village cross at Haddenham, which had sunk
deep into the ground, was dug out, and it was found to be in-
scribed with the words, Lucein Tua7n Ovifio da Deus et requiem
(Give Thy light, O God, afid rest to Ovvin).^ The stone is now
in the nave at Ely. His death-day in the calendar is 4th March.
The authors of the Aa. SS. Mart., i. 312, say there was once a
church dedicated to him at Gloucester. Thomas of Ely calls
^ H.E., iv. 20, 2 Qoni)^ of the Heptarchy ^ 214.

<

APPENDIX I 219

him custos et procer of the Queen, and he probably had charge
of her patrimony of Ely. Bede tells us he abandoned this
dignified position, and how, attracted by devotion to the saint, he
had joined him with his axe and hatchet, and inasmuch as he
was no scholar, he asked permission to be allowed to join the
brotherhood as a workman. When St. Chad became Bishop
of Lichfield he accompanied |him thither. I have previously
described the pretty legend of St. Chad's death, in which he so
prominently figures.

^theldrytha was succeeded as Abbess of Ely by her sister
Sexburga. She had been married to Earconberht, king of Kent,
by whom she had had two sons, Ecgberht and Llothaire, who
successively ruled over the kingdom after their father, and two
daughters, Earcongota and Eormengilda.^ Thomas of Ely has
partially confused her with another Sexburga, who was queen of
Mercia. On the death of her husband she built a nunnery at
Sheppey, which was endowed by her son King Ecgberht with lands,
etc. There she adopted the veil and collected a body of seventy-
eight disciples. 2 In the Hist, Eliensis^ i. chap. 36, which quotes
a book of her Gesta, she is said to have received the veil from
Archbishop Theodore. According to Florence of Worcester,^
she founded the monastery as a burial-place for her husband,
but Thorn {Col., 1769) says he was buried at St. Augustine's
at Canterbury. He may have been removed there.

After being for some time at Sheppey, she in 679 joined her
sister ^Etheldrytha at Ely. The Book of Ely tells us how before
she left she foretold to her nuns the ravages which would pres-
ently be caused by the Danes, which had been disclosed to
her in a dream. She also endowed the monastery with many
lands.* She was buried near ^theldrytha in the church at
Ely. When in 1106 the new church there was rebuilt, the
bodies of the two saintly sisters were translated, and the tomb
of Sexburga was opened. Her remains, partly bones and partly
dust, were found wrapped in silk, each in a separate shrine.
They lay in the tomb just as St. Ethelwold, who had sealed it

1 Thomas of Ely, Ang. Sac, i. 595.

^Ib.i. 595,596. ^M.H.B.,6ze.

* The year of her death is not known, but must have been after 673. Her
death-day in the calendar was July the 6th. A fragment of an eleventh-
century Life of her is preserved in the Lambeth MS. 427 (see Hardy, CaL
Brit. Hist., i. 362), and certain lections on her life are preserved (see MS.
Cott. Cat., A, viii. 89-91).

2 20 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

with lead, had placed them. They were now folded in clean
wrappers and the tomb was again fastened with lead by Abbot
Richard, and placed on the left of that of her sister.^

Eormengilda, the daughter of Sexburga by Earconberht, king
of Kent, married the great Mercian ruler, Wulfhere, on whose
death in 674 she joined her mother Sexburga at Sheppey and
took the veil there. When her mother moved to Ely she became
Abbess of Sheppey, and on the death of Sexburga she was elected
Abbess of Ely. There she died and was buried with her mother
and aunt.2 When the church at Ely was rebuilt in the year 11 06,
and the various saints buried there were translated, her tomb
was opened and, according to Thomas of Ely, her remains were
found lying in a grave without any covering {absque velamine 1 /),
as Bishop Ethelwold must have placed them. They were now
collected, wrapped in a clean cloth, and deposited in a tomb on
the left of those of St. ^theldrytha. It also was duly sealed
with lead.^

Eormengilda's daughter by Wulfhere was called Werburga.
On her father's death she went with her mother to Kent
and lived under her at Sheppey, and apparently accompanied
her to Ely. As we read in her Life^ she was induced by her
uncle, King ^thelred, to preside over a monastery in Mercia, in
which kingdom she became perhaps the most famous female saint.
She is reported to have founded monasteries at Trickingham,
Handbury, and Weedon.^ She apparently presided over all the
monasteries of her own foundation, and according to her English
Life^ when her mother died she also succeeded to the government
of Ely. It further reports that there was a great anxiety among
her various monasteries as to where she would be buried when
she should die. This she decided for them by selecting that at
Heanbirig {i.e. Handbury), about five miles from Repton, and
she left instructions that wherever she might die her remains
were to be translated thither. She actually died at Trytengeham
{i.e. Trickingham), and was laid away on the 3rd of February,^
which is St. Werburg's Day. The very same night the com-
munity from Handbury came and carried off the body with
great joy to their own abbey. Nine years later it was reported

^ Thomas of Ely, Ang. Sac.y i. 613. ^ lb. 596.

' Ang. Sac, \. 613. ^ Bright, op. cit. 456.

' William of Worcester assigns 21st June to St. Werburga of Chester.
This perhaps refers to the translation of her remains thither. Stubbs, Diet.
ofChr. Biog., iv. 11 74, 1175.

APPENDIX I 22 1

to be still undecayed. This was in the reign of King Ceolred of
Mercia, who died in 716.

The monasteries presided over by Werburga were doubtless
all destroyed and ravaged by the Danes. According to the late
writers, Brompton and Higdcn, when in 875 Burgred, king of
Mercia, was driven from Repton by them, her remains were
translated to Chester. The nunnery there where they afterwards
lay, and which was dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, was
restored by Athelstan, who rededicated it to St. Werburga.^ It
is curious that Jocelyn does not mention this translation.

As a proof of the popularity of the saint may be mentioned
the number of dedications of churches to her which still remain ;
others were probably changed in Norman times. Dr. Stubbs
thus enumerates them. He says : " Not only is the great church
at Chester dedicated in her name, but at least eight churches in
other parts of England are called after her. One of these, Hoo
St. Werburgh, lies at no great distance from Sheppey ; others are
at Derby, Bristol, Warburton in Cheshire, Kingsley in Stafford-
shire, Blackwell in Derbyshire, Wembury in Devonshire, Warb-
stow in Cornwall, and a church in Dublin. ^ The last three of
these churches are far from Mercia and not easy to explain.^
The names of Werburgmore in Mercia^ and Werburglingham in
Thanet ^ may denote property which was either by dedication or
inheritance connected with her."*^

The great place St. Werburga fills in the history of Chester
is doubtless due to the wealth of her church there, which was
very richly endowed by Earl Leofric in 1057. This church was
rebuilt afterwards, and was attached first to a Benedictine abbey,
and at the Reformation became the cathedral of the diocese.

Some of the miracles attributed to her are picturesque. Of
these it will suffice to mention two. On one occasion a flock of
wild geese alighted among the reeds on some land of hers. She
told her servant to drive them into the farmstead. He was most
surprised to find the wild geese were so tractable. Thinking no
one would find it out, he took one of them, cooked it and ate it.
The theft, however, was disclosed to his mistress by the unusual
behaviour of the other geese. She had the bones of the cooked

^ William of Malmesbury, G.P., 308. "^ Stubbs, loc. cit.

^ Miss Arnold-Forster adds to these, churches at Hanbury, Treneglos,
and formerly at Spondon.

*■ Kemble, CD., 78, 217. ^ Thomas of Elmham, p. 19.

® Stubbs, op. cit. iv. 1175.

2 2 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

bird collected, and miraculously restored, not only its flesh and
feathers, but also its life. Thereupon the whole flock paid her
reverence and flew away.^ On another occasion " she miracu-
lously caused the head of a steward, who was scourging a lady
named Ailnoth, to turn round on his shoulders so that he looked
backwards. It was afterwards put right again at the intercession
of the saint." ^

I have now related the story of two of King Anna's famous
daughters, ^theldrytha and Sexburga, and of the latter's
descendants, and will turn to a third one called Withburga,
whose life is recorded by Thomas of Ely. He says that she was
sent with her nurse to be brought up at Holkham near the sea,
where a church was afterwards built in her honour and named
Withburgestowe. On her father's death she determined to adopt
a religious life and withdrew to Dereham, twenty miles from
Holkham, where he had a property, and built a monastery
there. While it was being built she was reduced to great
want and had to subsist on the dry bread provided for the
workmen. Thereupon, says the saga, the Virgin came to her
help and bade her send some girls to the bridge over the
neighbouring stream where they would find two wild animals,
who would allow them to milk them. The maids duly went there
and found two does, and secured so much milk from them that it
filled a large vessel which had to be carried by its two handles by
two men ; whereupon the whole community's needs were supplied.
Malmesbury says that she was attended by a tame doe, which
was shot by a ruthless praefect, who thereupon was struck with
the king's evil. Withburga died on the 17th of March 743,
and was buried in the graveyard at Dereham. After fifty-five
years, her body was found to be uncorrupted and was translated
into the church in 797. If this date is right, says Stubbs, she
must then have been ninety years old (for her father Anna died
in 654). There she remained till the time of King Eadgar, that
is to say, until the 8th of July 974, in which year and day Abbot
Brythnoth of Ely, with the consent of the king and Bishop
-^thelwold, removed the body to his monastery and put her
beside her sisters. The life of the saint, from which Thomas
of Ely reports these facts,, was no doubt used both by Florence
of Worcester ^ and the compiler of the later MSS. of the Aftglo-

^ ^ William of Malmesbury, Gest. Pont.^ ed. Hamilton, 308-9.

Ij - Stubbs, Diet, of Chr. Biog., iv. 1174.

' Vide sub an. 798.

APPENDIX I 223

Saxon Chronicle. In the genealogical table attached to Florence,
Withburga is wrongly called Withgytha.

In regard to her translation, William of Malmesbury reports
a miracle. He says that the body was transferred by water,
which was then the only means of approach to the island of Ely.
The natives of the place opposed the removal very violently.
The boatmen lost their way in the monotonous marshes, but
were at length guided by a column of fire from heaven. He
adds that in his day artificial roads had been made across the
fens by putting embankments in the water, over which people
could go dryshod.^ At the place where she was originally
buried at Dereham, a fountain of pure water is said to have
broken out.^

When Abbot Richard rebuilt the church at Ely, he again
translated the body of St. Withburga with those of her sisters.
Thomas of Ely tells us that Withburga's remains were found
fresh and intact, as were the vestments in which she was
buried. So also was her wooden cofifin ; its iron hasps
(ferrets) and keys, however, were corroded. A monk of
Westminster called Warner raised the remains and proved
that her arms and hands were still flexible. This was also
seen and attested by Herbert, Bishop of Thetford, and
many others who were there. The saint was buried again
close to her sisters. Malmesbury grows eloquent over her
peaceful face, her florid cheeks, her white teeth, her shrunken
lips, and her small breasts.^ The facts reported about the
freshness of her remains caused a great cult of them to
be prosecuted, and they were presently placed in a silver
reliquary. A polemic arose about them between the Bishops
of Lincoln and Ely, the former of whom urged that the
treasure had been improperly removed from his diocese. The
dispute was submitted to the king, and afterwards to the Pope
for decision, but it would appear that she continued to rest
beside her sisters until the Reformation, when their remains
were all ruthlessly destroyed.

We have told the story of Eormengilda, one of Sexburga's
daughters. We must now turn to the latter's other daughter,
Earcongota. Of her, Bede says that she joined the monas-
tery founded by Saint Fara at Brie, known as Faremoutier
en Brie, and also as Eboriacum, to which the Frankish Queen
Bathildis was a great benefactress. There Earcongota became

^ G.P., 325. 2 ^^^^ ^^^^^^ 5o^ and 606. ^ G.P., 325.

224 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Abbess. Bede says that many works and miracles were reported
of her by the people near the monastery, but he limits himself
to one relating to her departure from the world. When the
day of her death was approaching, she visited the several nuns
in that part of the monastery where the very old and infirm
who had been especially godly were lodged. She commended
herself to their prayers, and told them she knew by revelation she
was about to die, and said she had seen a number of men all
dressed in white enter the monastery. On her asking them what
they wanted and what they were doing there, they told her they
had come to carry away "the gold medal which had come to
them from Kent." When the night had nearly passed and
dawn had arrived, says Bede, she left the darkness of the world
and departed to the light of heaven. This is a proof that the
monastery was a double one.

Many of the brethren declared that they had plainly heard
a concert of angels singing and a noise as of a great multitude
entering the monastery. " On going out they saw an extraordinary
light sent down from heaven, which conducted that holy soul,
released from the bonds of the flesh, to the joys of heaven."
The body of the saint was buried in the church of the proto-
martyr Stephen. Three days later it was thought fit to take up
the stone covering of the grave, and to raise it higher in the same
place ; whereupon so great a fragrance proceeded from below
that it seemed to those present as if a storehouse of balsams
had been opened.

Earcongota was not the only descendant of King Anna
who presided over the famous Abbey of Faremoutier. Her
aunt ^^thelberga (who is called his natural daughter by Bede) ^
also went there, and Bede has something to say of her. He
tells us that whilst she was Abbess she began to build a church
in the monastery in honour of all the Apostles, where her body
might be laid ; but she died before it was half finished, and was
nevertheless buried in the very spot in the church which she had
fixed. The brethren were at the time occupied with other matters,
and the building was stopped for seven years, and then finding
that the work before them was too great, they determined to
give it up entirely and to translate the remains of the Abbess

^ This phrase in this particular place is probably meant to contrast her
with Soethryd, who is called the daughter of his wife. But it is well to
remember that the phrase was used in its modern sense as early as the time
of Ulpian (see Plummer, ii. 149).

APPENDIX I 225

to some church already finished. When they opened the coffin
they found the body quite fresh. Having washed it and put
fresh clothes on it, they translated it to the Church of the
Blessed Stephen, and her nativity was celebrated there on the
7th of July.i

There was a third English lady who joined the same com-
munity at Faremoutier, namely Sasthryd. Bede calls her the
daughter of the wife of Anna, and she was therefore his step-
daughter, which points to his wife having been twice married.

Let us now return again to Kent. As we have seen,
Eormenred, the eldest son of Eadbald, king of Kent, died
before his father, leaving by his wife Oslawa two sons and two
daughters. The former were murdered at the instance of their
uncle Ecgberht, the younger son of Eadbald.^ One of her
daughters, Eormenburga or Eomenberga, styled Domneva,
married Merewald, the ruler of the Hwiccas, under the supremacy
of Mercia, and the reported founder of a monastery at Leo-
minster. He was a younger son of Penda. They had a son,
Merewin, and three daughters — Mildred, Milburga, and Milgith.
We have already followed the fortunes of Milburga. Apparently,
after the death of her husband, Eormenberga was invited to
return to Kent by her uncle. King Ecgberht,^ who offered her
a handsome estate as a compensation for the homicide of her
brothers.* He left it to her choice where the estate should be,
and she fixed upon the Isle of Thanet, reputed, as Bede tells us,
to be the most fruitful part of England, and told the king that
she would like to have it there. It had apparently belonged
to Thunor, the murderer of her brothers, and she asked that
she might have as much land as a hunted hind could gallop
round in one course. This the king granted, and when the
hind reached a great mound called Thunorslaw (Agger vastus illi
loco impositus qui Thu7iorisleauw^ dicitur\ Thunor indignantly
asked the king how much longer he intended following the dumb
animal, whereupon the earth opened.^ The MS. life of the Saint
by ^Ifric here ends abruptly, but Symeon of Durham, who
continues the story, says that Thunor was swallowed up in the

^ Bede, H.E., iii. 8. 2 ^^^^^ j 247.

' It is possible that she may have been the widow of Ecgfrid, King of
Northumbria, who had the same name and possibly married him when he
was deserted by Saint /Etheldrytha.

^ Ante^ i. 248. ^ It was afterwards called Thunorsleap.

^ Hardy, op. cit. i. 382. 383.
VOL. III. — 15

2 26 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

chasm with his horse and arms, whereupon the king ordered his
body to be covered with a great cairn of stones ; his soul, says
the Monk of Durham, was reserved for everlasting burning in the
dreadful fires of hell. " The place," he adds, " is called by way-
farers Thunersleap." This name, which is a corruption, no doubt,
gave rise to the legend about the chasm and Thunor having leapt
into it. The real name of the cairn, as we learn from Jocelyn
and Capgrave, was Thunorslaw, i.e. Thunor's burial-mound. A
very interesting map of the island of Thanet, with the course of
the stag traced on it, is given in the MS. of Thomas of Elmham.
Eormenberga built a monastery and church on the land
made over to her by King Ecgberht, which was dedicated to the
Virgin.^ When she had built her monastery, since widely known
as Minster, in Thanet, she dedicated it to the memory of her
two murdered brothers, and determined to set her daughter
Mildred over it. She accordingly sent her to be trained abroad.
Symeon of Durham, no doubt following ^Ifric's Life of Mildred,
merely says " in transmarinas partes " ; while Jocelyn says ex-
pressly she was sent to Kalas, i.e. Chelles, near Paris, a favourite
place of education for the daughters of Saxon nobles. ^ At this
point Jocelyn relates one of his extravagant stories. He says
that that monastery was then presided over by the Abbess
Wilcoma — doubtless an Englishwoman {quod bene venias
resonat anglica lingua). A kinsman of this Abbess being
anxious to marry Mildred, the latter refused, whereupon we are
gravely told she was thrown into a furnace by Wilcoma, but
miraculously escaped unhurt. The Abbess then beat her and
tortured her in various ways, but with no better success. Mildred
contrived to inform her mother of her position. She sent the
message by the bearer of a psalter, which she had herself written
and which she now sent with some of her hair, no doubt to
identify the sender. Her mother commanded her to return, but
the Abbess refused to let her go, whereupon she furtively escaped
and landed at Ipplesfleot, i.e. Ebbsfleet, where a chapel was
afterwards built to commemorate the event.^ In her Life we are
told that, on landing, the saint impressed her feet miraculously
on the squared stone on which she stepped, which afterwards
effected miracles of healing.^ She brought with her from France
some vestments and relics, together with a nail from Christ's
cross {clavis crucifixionis Dominicae). She joined her mother's

^ Symeon of Durham, M.H.B.^ 649. ^ Hardy, op. cit. i. 377.

' lb. * This seems a repetition of a similar story told of Augustine.

. liUiuui'ff) ^

)gf»ASgbii^^ «ltU"y ^

Of Hi W»-

I ^ii)pr&l)«ntn

mlfunij pmiflUrnKtutnonrtW- "itim •

mnnm Mnftt. tUx p nnrfwrniHI^

Vi»ijiui(»h!iymi*nir™iuiiTrmjiti
TTT-;i^«atipran iioomipjlnmRa^
no|mifrTrci tffCrtos yrntruiliittni^o

fimriif'iiflnft»^ani|itrnT< minio^

^nan (v^mmrAn lift
tw^t rtrrStfi&nsiMmftfirn ^"S'pnttt

T(lnnrti.-quiitftrtni((furtlD%ndHniu
im^iartrt^prnrrrfiifptffenaSiGnmrtttt

a(jnntu:HO riiiTii TTyin( (iw|hi!^ (till*
nil «|fftrrrraVfiijHtt Tinjtntii m'^Ttf^

jLuStmi^nIrfrnl tfewT"

The Amhit of Kormenherc.a's Estate in Thanet.

[/W. III., faciug p. 226.

APPENDIX I 227

monastery, of which she afterwards became Abbess, and where
she had a band of seventy nuns. She was consecrated by Arch-
bishop Theodore or, as Symeon of Durham says, by Archbishop
Deusdedit. The date of her death is apparently not known,
but she was commemorated on 13th July. Stubbs speaks of the
numerous dedications of churches to St. Mildred, and the frequent
use of her name as a baptismal name. Churches dedicated to
her exist in Bread Street and in the Poultry in London, and
others at Preston, Canterbury, and Whippingham. There was
also one at Oxford, but it has been demolished.^ Of this
Dr. Bright says, every one who passes up Brasenose Lane
traverses ground belonging of old to a church named after
the canonised granddaughter of Penda, and three columns of
its crypt remain under the common room of Lincoln College.^
She is mentioned in several charters, all of which are, I believe,
spurious. In the De Gestis Regum^ which has passed under the
name of Symeon, a story is told of her that one day when she was
resting and had fallen asleep, a dove came down and, alighting
on her head, protected her from the attacks of evil spirits.^

On her death she was succeeded as Abbess of Minster by
Eadburga, who, according to Thorn, was her mother's sister.

The church which had been built by Eormenberga, and was
dedicated to the Virgin, had become too small to accommodate
the sisterhood, so she built a larger one a little distance away,
which she dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and which was
consecrated by Archbishop Cuthberht.*

To this church St. Mildred's remains were translated. In
later days a fierce fight took place between the monks of St.
Augustine and the canons of St. Gregory, both of Canterbury,
in regard to these relics, which were such a valuable posses-
sion. There seems little doubt that the claims of the monks
of St. Augustine's were supported by a series of forgeries and
concocted story. According to the latter, Abbot ^Istan, with
the consent of King Cnut, who was passing through Kent on his
way to Rome, transferred the remains of the saint to his monas-
tery of St. Augustine, where he placed the saint's tomb in the choir
" near the great candlestick called Jesse." ^ In the time of Abbot
Wilfrid the younger, it was transferred to the porticus of St.

^ Did. of Chr. Biog., iii. 914. Miss Arnold-Forster adds others at
Ipswich, Lee, Nursted, and Tenterden.

2 Op. cit. 273. ^ M.H.B., 639.

* Thomas of Elmham, 217. ^ Thorn, Twysden, 1910.

2 28 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Augustine's Church. Thorn claims that the night before the
translation, a monk of the Abbey, who was also sacristan, called
Maurus, saw the vision of a virgin in a nun's dress, which informed
him that she was St. Mildred and was going to be translated the fol-
lowing day, and quotes this as conclusive against " the Gregorians."
He also says that Abbot Egelwine had carried off the key of
.^Istan's shrine to Denmark and afterwards returned it to Abbot
Scotland, and it was found to open this shrine. No one recog-
nised the key except Godwyn the Dean, who had been present
at the first translation by ^Istan. When they opened the chest
or coffin {archa) they found a leaden case, and inside it a wooden
one much decayed, in which was a glittering cloth which con-
tained the bones and arms of the saint. The whole were now
transferred to a new sarcophagus, where they remained till the
year 1262, when they were removed to a fresh one, on which was
inscribed :

" Clauditur hoc saxo Mildreda sacerrima virgo
Cujus nos precibus adjuvet ipse Deus."

When the translation took place, says Thorn, a leaden vessel
with a leaden label was found, reading :

'* Hoc in loculo habetur pulvis Dei dilectae virginis Mildredae,
ossa vero ejus in tumha ipsius clausa saxo durissinio requiescunt." ^

At her tomb daily Mass was said in her memory.

We can hardly doubt that the whole of this story was a
concoction of the monks of St. Augustine's, who were most adept
at the art. Thorn has an additional story illustrating the
methods by which great men were in those days induced to
foster monasteries. He says that when King Edward i. was
once crossing the sea from Flanders a terrible storm arose and
the ship was driven towards Thanet. The king saw a vision
of the saint surrounded by her nuns standing on the shore and
impelling the waves against the ship with her abbess's staff.
When the king appealed to her she replied that she would
comply with his wish if he would restore to her monastery some
of the possessions of which it had been deprived, and he quotes
the document by which the king presently conveyed the lands
in question.^

While the monks of St. Augustine's claimed to possess the
saint's remains, a similar claim, as I have said, and perhaps
^ Thorn, op. ciL 19 12-13. '^ Op. cit. 1962 and 1963.

APPENDIX I 229

equally dubious, was set up by the canons of St. Gregory at
Canterbury. According to their story, which is reported by a
champion of the other side, namely, Thomas of Elmham, the
canons urged that in early times the remains of St. Mildred had
been translated to Lyminge. Thence they were again removed
in 1085, in the time of Archbishop Lanfranc. If their story was
as Thomas reports it, it seems clear that their case was not a
very strong one. A famous polemical pamphlet against the
canons and their claims was written by Jocelyn, the monk of
St. Augustine's, which was entitled Libellus contra inanes usurpa-
tores Sa?ictae Mildrithae. Thomas of Elmham also makes a
good fight in his book for his own monastery.

According to the Acta Sanctorum, vol. iii. p. 514, a number
of her relics were preserved at Deventer.

Thomas of Elmham further reports a remarkable saga about
St. Mildred's remains, which he quotes from the tract on the
translation of her relics. He says that in the time of William
the Conqueror a certain knight broke into a barrack {militis
hospitio) and stole the greater part of its contents. He was
captured and imprisoned in the castle of Canterbury and put
in fetters. On the vigil of the saint, stirred by the sound of the
bells of the monastery summoning people to its services, he had a
yearning to go thither himself. He found his chains loosened,
while the custodians were paralysed. The gates of the castle
were opened, and he fled to the monastery, the gates of which
were closed, but was able to creep through the windows of
the crypt, nor was he pursued. He thereupon proceeded to
secure some portion of the hair, the neck, legs, arms, feet, and
of the vestments and girdle of the virgin to whom he was
devoted, and who had assisted him in escaping from the prison.
The sacristan, hearing a noise in the church, collected a number
of people, by whom the runaway was recaptured.^

As we have seen, Mildred was succeeded as Abbess by her
aunt Eadburga, who is reported to have died in 751.^

There is a special interest about Eadburga from the fact
that she was one of the correspondents of Archbishop Boniface.
The first of his letters to her is dated about 717, and was
apparently written by him before he left England, and under
his early name of Wynfrid. In it he sends her an account,
which he had also sent to Hildelitha, the Abbess of Barking,
of the visions of the monk of Wenlock reported in a later
^ Thomas of Elmham, 224 and 225. ^ lb. 220.

2 30 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

page.^ He ends the letter gracefully with an alliteration, a
mode of composition then in fashion : —

" Vale; verae virgo vitae ut et vivas angelicae ;
Recto rite et rumore regnes semper in aethere
Christum."^

In a second letter written to Boniface by Leobgytha in 732,
then a nun in England, who went to Germany in 737, she speaks
of Eadburga as an accomplished Latin versifier.^ In 735 the
Bishop writes her a letter, in which he thanks her for having sent
a present of books " to the exile living in Germany, which would
light up the dark recesses of the German race." The same year
he again writes to her asking her to copy out for him in golden
letters the Epistles of St. Peter, of which he had special need.^
Some time between 742 and 746 he again writes to Eadburga
telling her of his troubles and labours, and asking for her
prayers for himself and the pagans, whom he had been charged
to rescue from idolatry.^ In 745-46 he sends her a further
graceful letter, in which he says he is sending her some small
presents {J)arva munuscula), including a silver style or pen
{graphium), and some spices {storacis et cinnamonia), and tells
her that if she needs anything else which he could send her, she
must inform him by his messengerCeollaorotherwise.^ Leobgytha,
one of his pupils, also corresponded with Boniface, as we have
seen, and sent him specimens of her verses, which she claimed to
have composed " according to the rules derived from the poets,
not in a spirit of presumption but with the desire of exciting her
slender talents and in the hope of his assistance." She said she
had learned the art from the Abbess Eadburga, who was ever
occupied in studying the divine law. The following four hexa-
meters conclude a poem addressed to Boniface by Leobgytha,
and comprise a blessing upon him :

" Arbiter omnipotens, solus qui cuncta creavit
In regno patris semper qui lumine fulget,
Qua jugiter flagrans sic regnat gloria Christi,
Inlesum servet semper te jure perenni."
{Mon. Germ. Hist., Ep. iii. 281 ; Wright, Biog. Britt., i. 32 and 33.)

Let us now turn to the famous Abbey of Barking, in Essex,
founded out of his private patrimony, as we have seen, by
Earconwald, afterwards Bishop of London, as a monastery for

* Ante, vol. ii. 379. 2 j/^„ Germ, /list., Ep. iii. 257.

^ lb. 2^\. * lb. 285 and 286.

» lb. 333 and 334. « lb. 337 and 338.

APPENDIX I 231

women, and over which he put his sister ^^thelberga.^ Bede
says of her : " She behaved herself in all respects as became the
sister of such an episcopal brother, living rigorously and piously
and according to rule, providing for those under her, as was
manifested by heavenly miracles." ^ I have elsewhere described
her death from the plague.^ Bede says that when she was ap-
proaching her end a wonderful vision appeared to one of the sisters
called Torctgyd, who had lived many years in the monastery and
had taught the young people there. She had, however, been
stricken with a serious complaint, from which she suffered for
nine years. Bede attributes this affliction to the direct action
of the Redeemer, who desired that the faults she had committed,
either through ignorance or neglect, might be purged in this
world. One morning at dawn, as she left the house she saw a
vision of a human body, more effulgent than the sun, and wrapped
in a sheet, being lifted up and carried out of the house. It was
being drawn along by a number of cords brighter than gold, and
at length entered the open heaven and passed out of sight. She
interpreted this as meaning that one of their sisterhood was
about to die and to go to heaven, and, in fact, a few days later
their mother ^thelburga took her departure.

Three years later Torctgyd had become so ill that not only
were all her limbs paralysed but her tongue also. She again saw a
vision and was able to speak to it, and begged that the delay in
summoning her to another place might not be prolonged beyond
the next night. On being asked whom she had been talking to,
she replied that it was their mother yEthelburga. They under-
stood this to mean that the latter had come to summon her.*

Bede tells another story of a nun who was much afflicted by
illness, and so disabled that she could not move a limb. Being
informed that the body of the Abbess was being carried into the
church preparatory to placing it in the tomb, she desired to be
carried thither too, and to be placed near the body in the attitude
of one praying, whereupon the Abbess spoke to her as if she had
been living, and she begged her to pray for her that she might
be delivered from her sickness, which occurred twelve days
later, when she died.

Such were the naive and simple tales which brought consolation
and comfort to the much believing folk of the eighth century. It is
necessary for those who study the period to take note of them, as

^ Ante, i. 426. 2 ^g^g^ j^^ 5^

^ See St. Augustine the Missionary, 363-65. * Bede, iv. 9.

232 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

they are almost the only information we have about the way people
then faced the greater problems that still embarrass us all.

The death-day of ^thelburga in the calendar is nth
October. Florence of Worcester says she died in 676, which
Stubbs says is very doubtful.^ There is more probability that
she was the patron saint of St. ^thelburga's church in London.

Bede tells us that she was succeeded as Abbess of Barking
by a certain person. He does not say who she was. According
to the legendary Life of Earconwald, she was a foreign lady
invited by him to instruct his sister in her monastic duties, from
which, says Stubbs, it has been inferred that she came from
Chelles. Father Haigh suggests that she perhaps came
from Northumbria, and possibly was a relative of St. Hilda.
This he infers from her name (Hildelitha). Bede says she
presided over the monastery at Barking till she was of great age,
and did so in a most exemplary way. On account of the small-
ness of the site, she determined that the bodies of the female
and male servants of Christ who were buried in it should be
translated into the Church of the Blessed Mother of God and
there interred. Bede says that in the book from which he
gathered these facts it was reported that a heavenly light was often
seen there and a sweet fragrance proceeded thence, as well as
other miracles. Of these he mentions one. The wife of a
certain nobleman who lived close by was seized with dimness
in her eyes, which became so bad that she could not see. She
therefore had herself carried into the cemetery and prayed
for help at the grave of the saint. Almost immediately
she recovered her sight and was able to return home without
assistance.^

The fame of Abbess Hildelitha must have been very great,
for, as we have seen, St. Aldhelm dedicated to her and other
sisters of her house his famous work entitled De laudibus
Virginitatis (which I have described in an earlier page). In
the preface to this he apostrophises her as Hildelitha regularis
disciplinae et monasticae conversationis magistra. The other nuns
of the abbey whom he mentions were Justina and Cuthburga,
Osburga, Aldgida and Scholastica, Hedburga and Burrigida,
Eulalia and Tecla — some of which are actual names and others
adopted names in religion. In the concluding sentence of his
work he apostrophises them thus : Valete, flores ecclesiae sorores

^ Diet, of Chr. Biog.^ ii. 219.
^ Bede, iv. 10.

APPENDIX I 233

monasticae, alumfiae scholasticae Christ! margaritae^ paradisi
gemmae et coelestis patriae participes.^

To the poetical edition of this work Aldhelm prefixes a
preface forming a double acrostic, addressed not to Hildelitha
by name but " ad maximan Abbatissam." ^ As Aldhelm died
in 709, this poem must have been written before that year.

In 717 or 718 she is mentioned in a letter written by St.
Boniface to Eadburga, the Abbess of Minster in Thanet,
enclosing an account of the visions of a Wenlock monk,
which he says he had already sent to the Venerable Abbess
Hildelitha.^ Her death-day is given in the calendar as the 24th
of March ; the year is uncertain. Cuthburga, the first abbess
of Wimborne, was one of her pupils and is one of the nuns
mentioned, as I have said, in Aldhelm's tract in praise of virginity.

The successor of Hildelitha at Barking is not specifically
mentioned. I venture to make a suggestion in regard to her.
Among the nuns mentioned by Aldhelm in the work last named
as being under Hildelitha, one is called Hidburga. I think it
probable, for more than one reason, that she was the Heaburg
mentioned in a letter addressed to Boniface.^ This letter was
written by a certain Eangyth, who styles herself indigna ancilla
ancillarum Dei et nomine abbatissae sine merito j'uncta, and her
only daughter Heaburg, styled Bugga {cognomento Buggae).^
This latter uncommon name suggests that she was the same
Bugga who was the sister of Aldhelm and daughter of Kentwine,
King of Wessex, who built the famous basilica upon which
Aldhelm wrote a poem. In that case Eangyth was the widow
of King Kentwine. This conclusion falls in very well with the
contents of the letter above named written to Boniface, and
with the fact that both Boniface and Aldhelm were on such
terms of close friendship with Abbess Hildelitha. If the con-
clusion be right, it enables us to say that the Abbess Hildelitha
was dead when the letter was written, i.e. circ. 719-722.

Let us now turn to the letter. The use in it of Bugga as a
surname is illustrated by another phrase in which Eangyth speaks
of a certain Wale (which looks like a similar pet name) as formerly
her abbess and spiritual mother. This may have been a pet name
of Hildelitha. She goes on to speak of the poverty and scanty
supply of worldly things in her rural home {paupertas et penuria
verum temporaliu?n et augustia cespitis ruris nostri) and of the

^ Aldhelm, op. cit. ; Giles, 1-82. 2 /^ j^^

^ Mon. Genn. HisL, Ep. iii. 252. ^ lb. 260. ^ Jb. 261.

2 34 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

hostility of the King {i7ifestatio regalis), caused by the accusations
of those who were envious of her, added to which was the loss
of a crowd of friends and relatives. " We have neither son nor
brother, father nor uncle," she says, "and only one daughter,
entirely bereft of all dear to her in this world except an only
sister, a very aged mother, and a son of their brother, and he,
without any fault of his own, is afflicted with mental weakness
{infilicem propter ipsius mentis)^ and meanwhile the King hates
our family exceedingly."

This letter, while a querulous document, is a very interesting
one, and discloses the manifold troubles of an abbess (who was
probably not very tactful and worldly-wise) in her efforts to
manage her establishment. It was a double monastery
{promiscui sexus et aetatis), and she had the duty of keeping
the peace among a crowd of people differing in temperament
and in mental equipment and varying in age and sex, and was
held responsible not only for their overt words and actions but
for their secret thoughts.

" God has removed from me," she says, " in various ways those
who might have been useful to me. Some are dead and buried
at home — God knows how many — others have forsaken their native
land and sought shelter at the shrine of the Apostles Peter and
Paul. I myself," she adds, "was also anxious to go thither
across the sea, and asked for counsel from my spiritual brother
Boniface, especially as I was getting old, and many dissuaded
me from going, on the ground that I ought to stay and do my
duty where I had been put by Providence."

The letter closes with a request to Boniface to show kindness
to Denewald (whom she designates as ilium fratrg?n necessarmm,
amicum nostrum^ whether a real or only a spiritual brother I
don't know) if he should come into the parts where he lived ;
she also sends a friendly message to the priest Berther.^

The letter also affords good evidence of the mastery of Latin
possessed by English nuns at this time. One sentence will suffice
as a sample. Speaking of the relatives who had gone away and left
her so lonely, she says : '■'■ Alii obierunt in patrio solo ; et corpora
eorum in terrae pulvere squalente requiescunt, iteruvi resurrectura in
die necessitatis^ quando herilis tuba concrepat et Ofnne huma7ium genus
atris tumbis e?nergerit, ratione?n redditura, et spiritiis eorum angelicis
ulnis evecti regnaturi cum Christo ; ubi omnis dolor deficiet et invidia
fatescit et fugiet dolor et gemitus a facie sa7ictomm^'' etc. etc.

^ O/*. cit. 261-263.

APPENDIX I 235

The quality of the Latin in the letter is coupled with a proof
of considerable reading, as instanced by quotations from Jerome,
Isidore, and Aldhelm.

We still have left for description a nunnery in Western
England which was famous as a mother of missionaries and for
other reasons. This was Wimborne (Winborna). It was founded
by Cuthburga, the sister of King Ini, whom we have already
named among the Barking sisters under Abbess Hildelitha. She
had been the wife of Aldfrid, King of Northumbria, from whom
she separated ("during his lifetime," ^.-6'. Chron., 718), as other
royal queens had done, under pressure of quite false ascetic
notions. Florence of Worcester says she did so for the love of
God {pro amore Dei).

She founded a nunnery at Wimborne near the river of the same
name (called Wenturnia by Aldhelm) before the year 705, as it is
mentioned in a document dated in that year by Aldhelm. He
tells us it was then presided over by Cuthburga, whom he calls
Regis nostri germana Cuthburga^ thus making her the sister of King
Ida, as she is also made by the compiler of the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle and by Florence of Worcester, sub an, 718. These
authorities tell us she was the sister of Cuenburga or Quen-
burga, who is called the co-foundress of Wimborne by John
of Tynemouth in his Historia Aurea. According to the
Life of St. Leobgytha or Leoba there were 500 nuns at
Wimborne. We are not told the year when Cuthburga died,
but her death-day was observed on August 31st. Her bio-
graphy is entered in the Acta Sanctorum in August (vol. vi.

696).

She was apparently succeeded as Abbess of Wimborne
by her sister Cuenburga. She is probably the same who is
mentioned in an interesting document preserved among the
Epistles of St. Boniface (which was written sometime in 729-744),^
in which she is called Cneuberga. This document is the first
recorded instance, say Haddan and Stubbs, of an association of
confraternity between distant houses for mutual prayer, of which
some important examples occur in later times. It is a kind of
missive or letter addressed by Abbot Aldhun, Cneuburga a nun
{Christi famulae), doubtless Cuenburga, and Coenburg the Abbess
(? a corruption of Cuthburga), to the Abbots Coengils and Ingeld,^

^ Mon. Germ. Hist., Ep. iii. 309.

^ The third abbot of Glastonbury so named, who, in Malmesbury's list
is put in 729-743 {Ant. Glas., ed. Gale, 313 and 328).

2 36 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

and the priest Wiehtberht^ their relative {cognatus). Abbot Ingeld's
monastery is not mentioned, but he is named in a letter addressed
by Wiehtberht to the monks of Glastonbury, and may be the Ingeld
named as the brother of King Ini, and his sisters Cuthburga and
Cuenburga. In the letter Aldhun and the nuns acknowledge the
receipt of certain presents from their correspondents ; Cneuberga
then proceeds to communicate the names of her dead sisters to the
two abbots and Wiehtberht, apparently with the intention of
securing their prayers. The first of them, she says, was her sister
Queongyth {soror mea germana)^ and the second Edlu, who, when
alive, was mother of Etan, a relative {propinqua) of Aldhun, once
Wiehtberht's abbot. Both of them were commemorated on the
same day, namely, the ides of September : the nuns also asked for
the prayers of their correspondents for themselves. Haddan and
Stubbs (iii. 343) suggest that Etan or Eto was the same person as
Tetta,2 which seems almost certain. Mabillon makes Aldhun
abbot of Wimborne, of which there is no proof. An abbot of the
name presided over St. Augustine's, Canterbury, from 748-760.^
Cuthburga and Cuenburga were both buried at Wimborne. A third
sister named Tetta, above named, was also Abbess there, and
presided over the sisters while St. Leoba was in residence there.
We learn from the interesting Life of the latter Saint that
the convent was not a very happy family. In it Tetta is
called the sister of the King {i.e. of King Ini). Montalembert
has picturesquely translated some phrases from this Life. He
says : ''Among the crowd of minor authorities who lent their aid
to this zealous and pious abbess was the provost (preposita), the
deaconess {decand) ; the porteress whose business it was to close
the church after compline, and to ring the bell for matins, and
who was furnished with an immense collection of keys, some of
silver, others of copper or iron." ^ " But neither the rank nor
moral influence of the princess Abbess was always successful in
restraining the barbarous impetuosity of the monastic youth.
Thus at one time the nun who held the first rank after the
Abbess, and who was principally occupied with the care of the
novices, made herself odious by her extreme severity. When she
died, the hate which she inspired burst forth without pity ; she
was no sooner buried than the novices and young nuns began
to jump and dance upon her tomb, as if to tread under foot

^ He was afterwards one of Boniface's missionaries to the Hessians and Saxons
{,Mon. Germ. Hist.^ Ep. iii. 289, and note i). He became Abbot of Fritzlar.
2 Vide below. ' See Elmham, 317 and 318. * Vit. S. Leob.^ c. v.

APPENDIX 1 237

her detested corpse. This went so far that the soil, freshly filled
in, which covered the remains of their enemy, sank half a foot
below the level of the surrounding ground. The Abbess had
great trouble to make them feel what she called the hardness
and cruelty of their hearts, and imposed on them three days
of fasting, and prayers for the deceased."^

Leoba was the pet name of the nun whose life I have been
quoting from. Her full name was Leobgytha and she was
apparently also called Trythgifu.^ While still at Wimborne she
wrote a letter to Boniface. This was addressed to the Very
Reverend Lord and Bishop Boniface, beloved in Christ, by his
kinswoman Leobgytha, the humblest of the servants of God, health
and eternal salvation. " I pray your clemency to remember the
friendship which united you to my father Dynne, a native of
Wessex, who died eight years ago, that you may pray for the
repose of his soul. I also commend to you my mother Ebba,
your kinswoman (as you know better than me), who still lives in
great suffering and has long been overwhelmed with her in-
firmities. I am their only daughter ; and God grant, unworthy
as I am, that I may have the honour of having you for my
brother, for no man of our kindred inspires me with the same
confidence as you do. I have sent you a little present, not that
I think it worthy your attention, but that you may remember my
humbleness and that, notwithstanding the distance apart of our
dwellings, the tie of true love may unite us for the rest of our days.
Excellent brother, what I ask you with earnestness is, that the
buckler of your prayers may defend me from the poisoned
arrows of the enemy. I beg you also to excuse the rusticity of
this letter, and that your courtesy will not refuse the few words
of answer which I so much desire. You will find below some
lines which I have attempted to compose according to the rules
of poetic art, not from self-confidence, but to exercise the mind
which God has given me, and to ask your counsel. I have
learnt all that I know from Eadburga my mistress (i.e. the
mistress of the novices), who gives herself to the study of the
divine law. Farewell. May you live a long and happy life,
and intercede for me."

The verses referred to in this letter I have quoted on page 230.

After her mother's death Leobgytha joined Boniface in
Germany, who appointed her Abbess of Biscopsheim.

^ Vit. S. Leob.f ch. iii. ; Montalembert, op. cit. v. 295.
^ Setjourn. Yorks. Archaol. and Topog. Soc.^ iii. 368.

APPENDIX II

ARCHBISHOP THEODORE'S PENITENTIAL

I HAVE described this document and its contents at some length
in the Introduction, and in an earlier chapter, and shown how
valuable and important it is, not only for English ecclesiastical
history but for that of Western Christendom, being, with one
exception, referred to in it as the Libellus Scotorufn^ the earliest
example of a Penitential extant. I have thought it would be
useful and welcome to other students to give it at length for
the first time in translation, excluding only those parts of it
which deal with unclean topics.

I may say that the text of the document is in several places
very ambiguous and doubtful : I have taken it from Haddan
and Stubbs, iii. 177-21 1. I have to thank my friends Mr.
Mattingley and Mr. Hardinge-Tyler for help in clearing up
some doubtful passages, but others remain in which the sense
is by no means clear to me.

The First Book

The first chapter of the first book is headed " De crapula et
ebrietate^

1. If a bishop or other ordained person is habitually drunk
he must give the practice up or be deposed.

2. If a monk is so drunk that he is sick {vomitum facit\ let
him do penance for thirty days.

3. In the case of a priest or deacon this penalty is extended
to forty days.

4. If, however, he has been a very abstemious man, or is

delicate, or has been without food for some time, and has thus

accidentally succumbed from either drinking or eating too

much ; or if through joy at Christ's birth, or at Easter, or at the

commemoration of some saint he should give way, notwithstand-

* See Introduction, p. cxvii.
»38

APPENDIX II 239

ing that he had not drunk more than was permitted him by the
seniors, no offence is committed. If it was by command of the
Bishop that he drank, then, again, it is no offence, unless the
Bishop has also done it {nisi ipse similiter faciat).

5. If a faithful layman is sick from drink he is to do fifteen
days' penance.

6. Any one, however, who becomes drunk ** against the Lord's
command " (if he is under a vow of sanctity) is to be limited to
bread and water for seven days and to be seventy days without
butter or fat. Laymen are similarly to abstain from beer as a
penance.

7. If a man through wickedness causes another to become
drunk he is to do penance for forty days.

8. He who becomes sick through intemperance is to do
three days' penance.

9. If he do this at Communion he is to do seven days'
penance ; if it is due to infirmity, however, there is no offence.

The second chapter of the first book is headed '^ De
fornicatione."

It contains twenty-two clauses, all of which deal with the
relations of the sexes or unnatural crimes, to each of which
special forms and degrees of penance are assigned. The
minuteness of the classification and the details are incredibly
offensive in a document professedly compiled from the decisions
of an archbishop.

Bishop Stubbs, in dealing with the matter, offers some
apologies which explain if they do not justify it. He says of
the Penitential that " Like all works of a disciplinary character,
it contains much that is repulsive and redolent of heathen and
other abominations, against which early Christian teaching had
to contend. Painful and disgusting as it is, it shows the Church
attempting to struggle against the moral and social evils which
the Roman satirists and epigrammatists regarded either as matters
of jest or matters of course, and it was certainly never meant for
common reading." ^

The third chapter is headed " De avaritia"

I. If a layman carries off a monk from a monastery by
stealth, he must either himself enter a monastery to serve God, or
subject himself to human servitude.

^ Diet, of Chr. Biog.^ iv. 932.

240 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

2. Money if stolen from a church is to be returned fourfold;
if from laymen, twofold.

3. He who has often committed theft is to suffer a penance
of seven years, or such time as shall be deemed right by the
ecclesiastic {sacerdos) who tries him — that is to say, what is deemed
a punishment equivalent to the offence. A thief who is truly
penitent ought always to make due restitution, and thereupon he
should have the length of his penance reduced. If he is un-
willing or incapable of doing this, the full length of the penance
is to be exacted.

4. He who informs against the thief is to give one-third to
the poor ; and he who hoards up his superfluity is also to give
a third to the poor on account of his ignorance.

5. A thief who steals consecrated things is to do three years'
penance, with the plainest food (without fat), and afterwards to
communicate.

The fourth chapter is headed " De occissione hominum.^^

1. If any one in revenge for a relative kills a man, he is to do
penance, as in the case of homicide, for seven or ten years. If,
however, he is willing to pay the relatives the recognised blood-
penalty the penance is to be reduced by one-half.

2. He who kills a man to revenge a brother is to do three
years' penance. In other cases it is to be ten years {In alio
loco X. annas dicitur penitere).

3. In the case of homicide it is to be ten or eleven years.

4. If a layman kills another after brooding over it {pdii
meditatione)^ if he does not wish to give up his arms {i.e. to lose
his social rank), he must do penance for seven years, and for
three of them to be without flesh or wine.

5. If any one kills a monk, he must " give up his arms " and
** serve God," or suffer seven years' penance. The Bishop is to
be the judge ; in case the victim is a bishop or a priest, the King
is to be the judge.

6. If a man kills another by order of his lord, he is to
abstain from church for forty days, and if he kills one in public
war {publico bello), he is to do forty days' penance.

7. If through anger, three years; if by accident, one year;
if when drunk or by a stratagem, four years or more ; if in a
brawl, ten years.

The fifth chapter is headed '^ De his qui per heresim deci-
piuntur.^^

APPENDIX II 241

1. If any one is ordained by a heretic, he ought, if it was
done in ignorance, to be reordained ; if knowingly, he must be
deposed.

2. If any one abandons the CathoHc Church and becomes a
heretic, and afterwards returns, he cannot be reordained until
after a long interval {post longa??! abstmentiam) or for some great
necessity. Pope Innocent did not allow a clerk {clericus) to
reinstate himself by penance as the canon provided {cajioiium
aiictoritate). Therefore it is that Theodore adds " unless great
necessity should arise," for he declared that he would never
change the decrees of the Roman See {nunquam Romanorum
deer eta jnutari).

3. If any one does not accept the Nicene Council, and cele-
brates Easter with the Jews on the fourteenth day, he is to be
entirely excluded from the Church unless he repents before
his death.

4. If any one joins in prayer with such a one, as if he were
a Catholic cleric, he must do penance for seven days ; if he
neglects this, he must, on the first breach, do penance for forty
days.

5. If any one encourages heresy and does not want to do
penance for it, he is to be excluded from the Church ; as the
Lord says, " He who is not for Me is against Me."

6. If any one is baptized by a heretic who does not rightly
hold the doctrine of the Trinity, he is to be again baptized.

7. If any one gives the Communion to or receives it from a
heretic, in ignorance that this is forbidden by the Catholic Church,
and afterwards learns of it, he is to do penance for a year. If
he know, but neglects the rule, and afterwards wishes to do
penance, let him do it for ten years. " Others," says the reporter,
" say seven years ; and those, again, who are more lenient,
say five."

8. If any one permits a heretic to say Mass in a Catholic
church, in ignorance, he is to do forty days' penance ; if it is
done out of regard for the heretic, then for a whole year.

9. If he has done it to do harm to the Catholic Church
and to the custom of the Romans {et consuetudine Romanorum)^
he should be cast out like a heretic unless he is willing to do
penance, when he must practise for ten years.

10. If any one leaves the Catholic Church and joins an
heretical congregation, and persuades others to do so, and after-
wards desires to do penance, let him do it for twelve years, four

VOL. III. — 16

242 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

years outside the Church and six among the congregation
{auditores), and then two more years without Communion. In
connection with this, it is said by the Synod, " in the tenth year
let them receive their Communion or oblation."

11. If a bishop or an abbot orders a monk to chant a Mass
for dead heretics, it is neither right nor expedient to obey.

12. If a priest be present at a Mass for the dead where the
names of heretics and catholics are recited together, he is after
the Mass to do penance for a week : if he has done it frequently,
he is to do a year's penance.

13. If some one, however, order a Mass for the death of a
heretic and preserves relics of him on account of his goodness
{pro religione) ; although he failed much, if it was in ignorance of
the deference due to the Catholic Church, and if he afterwards
confessed it and desired to do penance, the relics should be
burnt and penance should be done by the offender for a year.
If he knew and yet disregarded the rule in such a case, yet was
afterwards moved by penitence, he is to do penance for ten
years.

14. If any one abandon the Faith without any necessity, and
afterwards does penance with his whole heart in public {infer
audientes)^ in accordance with the rule laid down by the Nicene
Council, he shall do penance — three years outside the Church,
seven in the Church, and ten more without Communion.

The sixth chapter is headed ^^ De perjurio."

1. He who commits perjury in a church is to suffer a year's
penance.

2. If he do it under durance, then for three Lents.

3. To swear " in the hand of a layman " is not treated among
the Greeks as of any consequence.

4. If, however, one swear in the hands of a bishop, priest, or
deacon, or on an altar or a consecrated cross, and then breaks
his oath, he is to suffer three years' penance ; if on a non-
consecrated cross, only one.

5. Those who commit perjury are to suffer three years'
penance.

The seventh chapter is headed " De ??iultis vel diversis malis
et quae non nocent necessarian

I. Any one who has committed certain crimes, such as
homicide, adultery, unnatural offences with cattle, or theft, must
enter a monastery, and do penance till his death.

APPENDIX II 243

2. In regard to money captured in a foreign province from
a defeated enemy, as from a king who has been beaten, one-
third of it is to be given to the Church or the poor, while the
captor is to suffer forty days' penance, since it was done by order
of the king {quia jussio regis erat). (I do not quite understand
this clause.)

3. This clause I prefer not to print.

4. Evil thoughts which do not culminate in actions are not
subject to punishment.

5. Theodore approved of twelve three-day fasts {triduana pro
anno pensanda) annually. From sick people, from a male or a
female servant for a year, or in default the payment of half of
all he owns, as Christ laid down, and if he committed a fraud he
should restore fourfold.^ " These regulations," adds the reporter,
" are taken, as we said in the Preface, from the small book of the
Scots {de libello Scotoruni), in which and in the rest {in ceteris)
the penalty is sometimes heavier and sometimes lighter."

6. He who eats unclean food or the flesh of a dead animal
which has been torn by wild beasts is to suffer forty days'
penance, unless compelled by famine, when it is allowable, since
it is done under compulsion.

7. If any one by chance touch food with his hand which a
dog or the skin of a mouse, or any unclean animal which eats
blood has touched, it is not an offence, nor is it wrong to eat an
animal, either bird or beast (which seems unclean), from necessity.

8. If a mouse falls into a liquid it is to be taken thence and
the liquid asperged with holy water. If the mouse is still alive,
the liquor may be drunk ; if, however, it is dead, all the liquor
is to be thrown out and not given to any one, while the vessel is
to be washed.

9. If, however, the liquid into which a mouse or a weasel
{mustela) falls and dies, is in considerable quantity, it may be
purged and asperged with holy water and afterwards consumed
if necessity arises.

10. If birds drop excrement into water, the excrement is to
be removed, the liquid sanctified, when the food shall be deemed
clean.

11. It is not wrong to absorb blood unknowingly with saliva.

12. If any one is unwittingly polluted by eating blood or
anything else unclean, he does no wrong; if knowingly, he must
do penance as in the case of pollution.

^ This clause is most obscure in the original.

244 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Chapter viii. is headed " De diverse lapso servorujn DeiP
Of the clauses in this chapter eleven deal with unclean

and carnal matters and their punishments. These we will

pass by.

12. In reference to those who having been laymen have
become monks and have again resumed their secular habit, if
willing to suffer penance, they are to be punished with ten years'
penance ; after three years, if duly penitent with tears and prayers,
the rest of the punishment may be lightened with the approval
of the Bishop.

13. If a man is not a monk when he leaves the service of the
Church, he should do penance for seven years.

14. Basil decided that a boy under sixteen might marry if he
could not abstain. In case he had been a monk, he was, how-
ever, to be treated as a bigamist and do penance for one year.

Chapter ix. is headed " De his qui degraduntur vel ordinari
non possunt"

1. A bishop, priest, or deacon committing fornication is to be
degraded and to be adjudged penance as prescribed by the
Bishop; nevertheless he may communicate. "While the man
thus loses his worldly position his soul is made to live by the
penance."

2. If any one having devoted himself to God adopt a lay
habit, he must not again be raised to any other rank {gradum).

3. Nor, if a woman, ought she to adopt the veil. It is much
better she should not have authority in the Church.

4. If any priest or deacon marry a strange woman he is to be
publicly degraded.

5. If he commit adultery and appear publicly with her, he
shall be excluded from the Church and suffer penance among the
laity as long as he lives.

6. If he has a concubine he ought not to be ordained.

7. If a priest, in his own diocese or in another, or any-
where else where he may be, professes to be infirm and is
unwilling to go and baptize any one because of the length of the
journey, and the person dies without baptism, he is to be
deposed.

b. Similarly, he who kills a man or commits fornication is to
be deposed.

9. No young man living in a monastery is to be ordained
before he is twenty-five.

APPENDIX II 245

10. If any one marries a widow, either before she has been
baptized or after, he is not to be ordained, but is to be treated
as if he were a bigamist.

11. If any one who is not ordained baptize some one through
temerity, he is to be ejected from the Church and never ordained.

12. If any one be ordained by chance before he is baptized,
those whom he has baptized must be baptized again, and he
must not baptize any more.^

"This again," says the reporter, "was differently decided by
the Roman See, which declared that it is not the unbaptized man
who baptizes in such a case, but the Spirit of God which confers
the grace of baptism. The matter, however, was adjudged
differently in the case of a pagan priest who was believed to
have been baptized, since his works showed he had the Catholic
faith. Others held that in such a case a man might baptize and
ordain.

Chapter x. is headed "Z>d Baptizatis bis^ qualiter
peniteant.^^

1. Those who in ignorance have been baptized twice should
not in consequence suffer penance, although according to the
canons they might not ordain unless when compelled by
necessity.

2. If any one, however, being aware that he had been
previously baptized, should wilfully be rebaptized (thus, as it
were, crucifying Christ twice), he must suffer penance for seven
years on the fourth and sixth days of the week, i.e. on
Wednesdays and Fridays, and also during three Lents. If he did
this for some worldly reason {pro mundantta), for three years.

Chapter xi. is headed " De his qui damnant Do7ninicam et
indicia jejunia aecclesia Z)ei."

1. In regard to those who work on the Lord's Day, the
Greeks are wont on their first breach to argue with the
offenders ; on the second occasion they take something from
them ; on the third they deprive them of a third of their goods,
or flog them, or exact a seven days' penance.

2. If any one should fast on the Lord's Day through negli-
gence, he must fast during all the succeeding week. If he
do it again, he must fast for twenty days ; if more than twice,
forty days.

^ Because a man cannot be ordained twice.

246 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

3. If he fast thus, in order to show his contempt for the
Lord's Day Hke the Jews, he is to be abhorred by all Catholic
churches.

4. If, however, he contemns the practice of Christian fasting
altogether, and, contrary to the decrees of the elders, breaks
his fast in another season than Lent, he is to do penance for
forty days; if in Lent itself, for a year. If he contemns the
Lent fast altogether, he must do forty days' penance.

5. If he commits such breaches frequently, he is to be
expelled from the Church, in accordance with the Lord's
saying, "They who scandalise {scandalizarent) one of these little
ones," etc.

Chapter xii. is headed ^^ De Communione Eucharistiae vel
Sacrificto."

1. The Greeks, both clergy and laity, communicate every
Sunday, as the canons require, and those who fail to do so for
three Sundays are excommunicated.

2. The Romans can also communicate every Sunday if
they wish, but when they do not do so they are not ex-
communicated.

3. Both Greeks and Romans abstain from women for three
days before the offering of the bread {ante panes propositionis)^
as is bidden in the Scriptures.

4. Penitents, according to the canons, ought not to com-
municate before completing their penance. We, however,
through compassion allow them to do so after a year or six
months has elapsed after the beginning of their penance.

5. He who takes the sacrifice {sacrificiuni) as food is to do
penance for seven days in the discretion of the Bishop. (In
some copies the clause about the Bishop is omitted.)

6. Every sacrifice {omne sacrificiuni) which becomes dirty and
soiled by age is to be burnt.

7. Confession to God alone, is permissible, if it be under
necessity. (The limiting clause is absent from some copies.)

8. He who accidentally mislays the sacrifice, and it is in
consequence devoured by beasts or birds, is to fast for three
weeks ; if from negligence, three Lents.

Chapter xiii. — ^^ De Reco7iciUatio7ieP

I. The Romans reconcile men within "the. apse" {intra
absidem) ; not so the Greeks,

APPENDIX II 247

2. The reconciliation of penitents is to be made on Good
Friday, and only by the Bishop and after the completion of
the penance.

3. If, however, the Bishop find a difficulty in doing it, a
priest may do it on the ground of necessity.

4. " In this Province " a public reconciliation is not required
and public penance is not exacted.

Chapter xiv. — '•'' De Fenite?itta Nubentium specialitery

1. In a first marriage the priest ought to say Mass and to
bless both parties, after which they are to abstain from church
for thirty days. They are then to do penance for forty days
and abstain from public prayer, and afterwards to communicate
with oblation.

2. Bigamists must do penance for one year, and on the
Wednesday and Friday and during three Lents they must abstain
from meat. They must not be separated, however, nor should
a man in such a case dismiss his wife.

3. In the case of trigamists the man is to do similar penance
for seven years on the fourth and sixth days, while for three
Lents they are to abstain from meat, nor is it permissible for
him to separate from his wife. " Basil so decided ; the canon,
however, prescribes a four years' penance."

4. If a man find that his wife has committed adultery and
he is unwilling to separate from her, he is to do penance for two
days weekly for two years, with fasting as long as the penance
continues. In such a case he must abstain from matrimonial
intercourse with her inasmuch as she has committed adultery.

5. If any man or woman have made a vow of virginity and
marries, the two must not separate but must do penance for
four years.

6. Stupid vows and those impossible to carry out {vota
siulta et importabilid) must be cancelled.

7. It is not lawful for a woman to make a vow without the
consent of her husband ; but if she have vowed to leave him,
she can do so on doing such penance as is prescribed by
the priest.

8. He who separates from his wife and takes another must
do seven years' penance with chastisement.

9. He who pollutes the wife of his relative must do penance
for three years, with abstention from his own wife, twice a week
during three Lents.

248 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

10. If he does so with a virgin he is to do penance for a
year without meat or wine.

11. If she be a servant of God {puellam Dei), he must do
penance for three years, whether she have a son or not by
him.

12. If she be his slave, he must give her her freedom and
do penance for six months.

13. If his wife go away with another man, and returns
without having been polluted, she is to do one year's penance ;
otherwise, three years. He himself is to do a year's penance
if he take another wife.

14. A woman committing adultery is to do seven years'
penance, as it is provided in the canon.

15. 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, and 23 are too gross for translation.

16. A wife who takes her husband's blood as a remedy is
to do penance for forty days, more or less.

20. Any one marrying on a Sunday must ask pardon from
God and do penance for one, two, or three days.

24. Women who commit abortion before there is evidence
of life in the child must do penance for a year, or three Lents,
or forty days, according to the degree of her fault ; if she do it
after signs of life have appeared {i.e. forty days after conception),
she is to be treated as a homicide with penance for three years
and with fasting on the fourth and sixth days and during three
Lents. This is according to the canon.

25. When a woman kills her son, if it amount to homicide,
she must do fifteen years' penance, except on Sundays.

26. If a woman who kills her child is very poor, she is to
do penance for seven years. The canon says when it amounts
to homicide it is to be for ten years.

27. A woman who kills her child within forty days of con-
ception is to do one year's penance ; if after forty days, it must
be treated as homicide.

28. If an infirm child or a pagan be entrusted to a priest and
dies, the priest is to give him up.

29. If a child die from neglect of the parents, they must do
one year's penance ; and if a child of three years old dies with-
out being baptized, the father and mother must do three years'
penance.

30. He who kills his son before baptism is, according to
the canon, to do penance for ten years ; if after deliberation {per
consilium) seven years.

APPENDIX II 249

Chapter xv. is headed "Z>^ culture Idolorum"
T. Those who sacrifice to demons in a small way are to do
a year's penance ; if in a large way, ten years.

2. A woman who puts her daughter on the roof or in the
oven to cure her of fever is to do seven years' penance. (These
were apparently pagan remedies.)

3. He who burns grain {grana) when a man has died, for the
health of the survivors and for his house, is to do five years'
penance. (This also was a pagan practice.)

4. If a woman perform diabolical incantations or divina-
tions, she is to do penance for one year, or three Lents, or forty
days, according to the quality of the fault. About this it is said
in the canon : " They who are guilty of augury, prophecies
{ausf>ida), dreams, or divinations after the manner of the
Gentiles, and have introduced men into her house to practise
such acts, if they are clerics must be deposed, if laymen they
are to do five years' penance."

5. In the case of one who eats the flesh of animals which
have been sacrificed, and then confesses, the priest is to make
inquiry what his age is and in what manner he was taught, or
how it came about, and is to measure the punishment by the
amount of the guilt. This is to be the case in all penances and
confessions.

The Second Book

Chapter i. is headed " De Ecclesiae ministerio vel reaedificatione
ejusr

1. It is lawful to remove a church to another site, and it is
not necessary to reconsecrate it, but the priest ought to asperge
the old site with water and to place a cross on the site of the altar.

2. Two Masses may be said at every altar on the same day,
and any one who fails to communicate is not to approach the
bread {panem) nor share in the kiss in the Mass. He also who
has previously eaten {ifianducat) is not to share in the kiss.

3. Wood that has been used in a church is not to be
used for any purpose other than that of another church or for
burning, or by the brethren in a monastery, or to bake the
loaves (panes, i.e. the hosts) ; but not for lay purposes.

4. In a church where the bodies of unbelievers are buried it
is not allowable to hallow an altar ; but if it seem suitable for
consecration they are to be removed {evulsa), and re-erected
after the timbers have been scraped or washed.

2 50 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

5. If, however, it had been previously consecrated, it is
allowable to say Mass at it if religious men {religiosi) are buried
there ; if, however, a pagan is buried there, it is better to cleanse
it and remove his remains {mundari et jactari foras).

6. Steps ought not to be made before the altar.

7. Relics of the saints are to be venerated.

8. If possible, a taper should be burnt every night where the
remains are {ibi) ; if, however, poverty prevents this, there is no
harm done.

9. The incense of the Lord is to be burnt on the natal days
of saints in reverence for the day, " for, like lilies, it gives an
odour of sweetness " ; on such days they should also asperge the
Church of God and cense the church, beginning with the altar.

10. A layman ought not to read a lection in church nor sing
an Alleluia, but he may sing psalms and responses without
Alleluia.

11. Men may asperge the houses in which they Hve with
holy water whenever they wish. When water is consecrated,
a prayer should be said.

The second chapter is headed ^^ De tribus Gradibus Aecclesiae
principalibus. "

1. It is allowable for a bishop to confirm in the open air {in
campd) if necessary (i.e. probably when the church was too small).

2. And so a priest may say Mass out of doors if a deacon or
the priest himself hold the chalice and oblation.

3. A bishop ought not to compel an abbot to attend a synod
unless there is a reasonable cause.

4. A bishop may decide the lawsuits of the poor to the extent
of fifty solidi, but over that sum it is the duty of the King.

5. A bishop or an abbot may keep a criminal as a slave if
the latter have not the money for his own redemption.

6. A bishop may discharge a vow if he thinks well.

7. A priest may say Mass, bless the people on Good Friday,
or sanctify a cross.

8. It is not compulsory to give tithes to a priest.

9. It is not allowable for a priest to disclose the sin
(j>eccatu??i) of a bishop. This is because he is set over him.

10. The sacrifice is not to be received at the hands of a priest
who cannot say the prayers or read the lections according to the
rite.

11. When a priest, or other, sings the responses in the Mass

APPENDIX II 251

he is not to take off his cope, but is to put it on his shoulders
at the reading of the Gospel.

12. If a priest fornicate and it is found out, those who have
meanwhile been baptized by him must be rebaptized.

13. If an ordained priest discover that he has not himself
been baptized, he should be baptized and ordained afresh ; all
tho?e whom he has baptized should also be baptized again.

14. "Among the Greeks, deacons do not break the holy
bread, nor do they repeat the Collect {collectionetii) nor the
Dominus vobiscum^ nor the last of the Mass Collects " (known in
later times as the " Post Common ").

15. It is not permitted to a deacon to impose penance on a
layman, but only to a bishop or priest.

16. Deacons may baptize or bless food or drink, but may
not distribute the bread (panem dare). Similarly, monks and
clerks may bless food.

The third chapter is headed " De Ordinationibus diver sorumP

1. At the ordaining of a bishop the Mass should be chanted
by the ordaining bishop.

2. At the ordination of a priest or deacon the bishop ought
to celebrate the Mass. This is also the fashion of the Greeks at
the consecration of an abbot or abbess.

3. At the ordination of a monk, the abbot should say Mass
and repeat three prayers over his head. For seven days the monk
ought to veil his head with a cowl, and on the seventh day the
abbot is to remove it, just as at baptism the priest removes the veil
from the child. The abbot should do so to a monk because
his consecration is his second baptism, which in the judgment
of the Fathers removes all sins, as in baptism.

4. A priest may consecrate an abbess with a celebration of
Mass.

5. At the consecration of an abbot, however, the bishop
should say Mass and bless him with bowed head in the presence
of two or three witnesses selected from his brethren, and give
him the staff (baculum) and crooks (pedules).

6. Nuns and basilicae should always be consecrated with
Mass.

7. The Greeks consecrate a widow and virgin in the same
way, and elect either to the position of an abbess. The Romans,
however, do not veil a widow as they do a virgin.

8. According to the Greeks, it is allowable for a priest to

2 5 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

consecrate a virgin with a sacred veil, to reconcile a penitent,
and to make the exorcising oil and the chrism for the infirm, if
necessary. Among the Romans these duties are reserved for
bishops.

The fourth chapter is headed " De Baptismate et Confirma-
tione"

1. In baptism sins are remitted {dejnitinntur). Not so when
the child is the offspring of a doubtful connection with a woman,
since in that case sons born before baptism would afterwards be
deemed her true sons.

2. A woman who was married before she was baptized
could not be deemed a real wife ; therefore any sons she had
before baptism could not be treated as real sons, nor were they
to call each other brothers, nor to share in the inheritance.

3. If a Gentile {i.e. an unbaptized person) give alms and
practises abstinence and other good works which we cannot
enumerate, he does not lose the benefit of these at baptism.
The good is not lost, but the bad will be washed away. This
was approved by Pope Innocent, who took his precedent from
what happened in the case of the catechumen Cornelius.

4. Gregory of Nazianzus said that the second baptism is
one of tears.

5. Baptism is not perfect without confirmation by a bishop.
" However, we do not despair of one in such a case."

6. Chrism was appointed by the Nicene Council.

7. It is not incorrect to use the same pa?i?ms chrismatis
{i.e. the chrismal napkin) again upon another baptized person.

8. If it be necessary, one person may act as father, i.e.
godfather, both at the baptism and confirmation of a person.
This is not usual, however, and a different one is generally
selected for each ceremony.

9. It is not allowable to act as godfather {aliuni suscipere)
when a person has not been baptized or confirmed.

10. A man may, however, be godparent to a woman and a
woman to a man.

11. It is not allowable for the baptized to eat with the
catechumens nor to kiss them, still less to do so with Gentiles.

The fifth chapter is headed " De Missa Defundorum.^^
I. According to the Roman Church, it is customary to carry
dead monks and other religious men to the church, and then to

APPENDIX II 253

touch their breasts with chrism, to celebrate Mass for them, to
carry them to their graves, and when placed there to say a
prayer for them and to cover them with earth or stone.

2. On the first, third, ninth, and thirtieth days Masses are
to be said for dead monks, and also after twelve months if they
so wished it (si voluerint servatur).

3. In the case of a dead monk a Mass is to be said on the
day of his burial and the third day after, and afterwards as often
as the abbot desires.

4. Masses are also to be said for dead monks every week,
when it is the custom to recite their names.

5. Masses for dead laymen are to be said three times in the
year, on the third, ninth, and thirtieth days, and this because the
Lord rose from the dead on the third day, died at the ninth
hour, and the Israelites lamented Moses for thirty days.

6. For a good layman Mass is to be said on the third day ;
for a penitent, on the thirtieth or the seventh after a fast, because
his relatives ought to fast for seven days and make an offering
at the altar, as was said by Jesus, son of Sirach, "And the
children of Israel fasted for Saul," and afterwards as often as
the priest shall desire. (This is an ambiguous clause.)

7. Some say it is not allowable to say Masses for infants
under seven years old, but it is in fact permissible.

8. Dionysius, the Areopagite, says it is blaspheming God to
say Masses for a bad man.

9. Augustine says they ought to be said for all Christians,
for they may either console those who make them or profit those
for whom they are offered.

10. It is not permissible to say Masses for a priest or a
deacon who could not or would not accept the Communion.

The sixth chapter is headed " De Abbatibus et Monachis et
MonasterioJ^

1. An abbot may resign his office from humility and with
the consent of a bishop. Nevertheless, the brethren must elect
his successor from their own number if they have one among
them who is fit ; if not, a stranger.

2. A bishop ought not by force to retain an abbot in his
position {in loco suo).

3. The brethren ought to elect their new abbot after the
decease of the previous one ; or in the latter's lifetime if he have
taken his departure or commits sin.

2 5 4 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

4. An abbot must not ordain one of his relatives to his own
post nor give the post to a stranger nor to another abbot without
the consent of the brethren.

5. If an abbot sin, the bishop has no power to remove him,
but he must send him to another abbey and another abbot.

6. It is not allowable for a bishop or an abbot to dispose
of the property of the community to another abbey, although
both may be in his jurisdiction. If he wish to exchange the
land with another abbey, it should be done with the consent
of both the communities.

7. If, again, he wish to move his monastery to another place,
he can do so with the consent of the bishop and the brethren,
at the same time leaving at the former site a priest to minister
to the church.

8. It is not permissible for monks to have women in their
monasteries, nor for nuns, similarly, to have men ; nevertheless,
says Theodore, " I do not wish to destroy what is the custom in
this country."

(It would seem that this is directed against double monasteries,
presided over in some cases by women and in others by
men.)

9. A monk should not make a vow without the consent of
the abbot, and if he do so it may be broken.

10. If an abbot have a monk worthy of the episcopate in his
house, he ought to give him up if it be necessary.

11. A boy is not to be allowed to marry when he has already
taken a monk's vow.

12. If a monk has been selected by the brethren for the
rank of a priest, he ought not to give up his previous monk's
life.

13. If presently, however, he be found to be proud, dis-
obedient, or vicious, and to lead a worse life in the higher station,
he may be deposed and reduced to his former position, or be
restored in the lowest grade, unless he make amends.

14. It is allowable for a monastery to receive the infirm.

15. It is permissible in such a monastery to wash the feet
of laymen, except on Maundy Thursday.

16. It is not allowable for monks to impose penances on
laymen ; this is strictly the duty of the clergy.

The seventh chapter is headed ^''De Ritu Mulierinn vel
Mifiisierio in Aecclesta"

APPENDIX II 25 5

1. Women should not veil the altar with the corporal nor
place the oblations in the chalice, nor are they to stand among
the ordained in the church nor to sit among the clergy at feasts,

2. Women are not to prescribe penances. This, according
to the canons, is the function of the clergy.

3. Women may, when wearing a black veil, receive the
sacrifice as St. Basil decided.

4. According to the Greeks, women may make the oblations,
but not so according to the Romans.

Chapter eight is headed ^'' De Moribus Grecorum etRomanorum."

1. On Sundays the Greeks and Romans alike sail and ride
on horseback, but they do not make bread and do not ride in
carriages, except to church, nor do they bathe.

2. The Greeks do not write in public on a Sunday, but when
necessary write at home.

3. The Greeks and Romans give their clothes to their slaves
and they work them without a Sunday's rest.

4. Greek monks do not have slaves ; Romans have them.

5. The Romans take refreshment at nine o'clock on the day
before Christmas Day, that is, the vigil of our Lord, after Mass
has been said ; the Greeks before doing so say Vespers and the
Mass.

6. Both Greeks and Romans visit those stricken with the
plague, as in the case of other diseases, in accordance with the
Lord's command.

7. The Greeks do not give the flesh of dead animals to pigs,
but allow their skins and furs to be used for shoes, and similarly
with their wool and horns, but such things are not to be used
for any sacred purpose.

8. The head may be washed on Sundays and also the feet
{lavatio pedum) ; the last, however, is not customary with the
Romans.

The ninth chapter is headed ^^De Comtnunione Scottorum et
Brittonum qui in Pascha et tonsura catholici non sunt"

1. Those who are ordained by Scotch or British bishops,
and who do not conform to the Catholic practice about Easter
and the tonsure, are not deemed to be in communion with the
Church, and should be confirmed by a fresh imposition of hands
by a Catholic bishop.

2. Similarly, the churches which are consecrated by the same

2 5 6 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

bishops are to be asperged with exorcised water and reconfirmed
with a Collect.

3. We have not the power, at their request, to give them
chrism or the Eucharist until they confess that they wish to join
with us in the unity of the Church. Any one among these people,
as well as any one else who doubts the regularity of his own
baptism, should be rebaptized.

The tenth chapter is headed " De Vexatis a diabulo."

1. If a man be vexed by a devil and run about heedlessly,
or kill himself, he ought to be prayed for, if he was previously a
religious person.

2. If he have killed himself from desperation, or fear, or some
unknown reason, we leave the decision to God and do not dare
to pray for him.

3. In the case of one who wilfully kills himself no Masses
should be said, but he may be prayed for and alms may be given
for him.

4. In the case of a Christian who, seized by a sudden out-
break, loses his mind or becomes insane and kills himself, some
are accustomed to say Masses for him.

5. In resisting a devil it is lawful to cast stones and herbs
{holera) at him, but not to use incantations.

Chapter xi. is headed "On the Use or Nonuse of
Animals."

1. Animals which have been lacerated by wolves or dogs are
not to be eaten, nor is a stag or a goat which is found dead,
unless it have been killed previously by a man.

2. Birds and other animals strangled in nets are not to
be eaten by men, nor if found slain by hawks, for in the
fourth chai)ter of the Acts of the Apostles we are told to abstain
from fornication, from blood, from things strangled, and from
idolatry.

3. Fish, however, may be eaten, for they are of a different
nature.

4. Horse-flesh is not forbidden, but it is not the custom to
eat it {consuetudo non est comedere).

5. It is lawful to eat a hare, and it is good for dysentery ;
while its gall, mixed with pepper, is good for quelling pain.

6. If bees kill a man, they ought to be killed as soon as may
be, but the honey may be eaten.

APPENDIX II 257

7. If by chance pigs eat the flesh of an animal found dead
or the blood of a man, they are not to be thrown away, nor are
hens, but they may be eaten.

8. It is not permitted to eat the flesh of animals which have
fed on the bodies of the dead until twelve months have elapsed.

9. Animals which have been polluted by men must be put
to death and their flesh given to the dogs, but their off"spring
may be used, and their skins also. When there is doubt about
the matter they need not be killed.

Chapter xii. is headed " De Qiiestiojiibus Conjugiomm.^^
I shall leave out some of the headings in this chapter,
which are not fit for publication.

6. A woman should not desert her husband, even if he be a
fornicator, unless for the sake of entering a monastery. Basil
decided this.

7. A legitimate marriage ought not to be dissolved except
with the consent of both parties.

8. It is lawful, however, for one party to consent to the
other entering the service of God in a monastery and then to
marry again if it was the first marriage. " This is according to
the Greeks." "Yet," says the reporter, "it is not canonical
for one to marry again during the life of the other."

If a man become a slave in consequence of having com-
mitted theft or fornication, his wife, if it was her first marriage,
may after a twelvemonth take another husband ; but not if she
have married twice.

9. If a man's wife die, he may take another after a month. A
woman may take another husband, but only after a twelvemonth.

10. If a woman commit adultery and her husband will not
live with her, she may, if she wishes, enter a monastery, and in
such a case can claim a fourth part of her heritage ; but if she
does not wish to do this, she is entitled to nothing.

11. If a married woman commit adultery she is in the
power of her husband, if he wishes to be reconciled to her. In
such a case she cannot claim to be so {in clero ?ion proficit
vindicta illius), and she belongs to her proper husband.

12. If a man and woman are married and he wishes to serve
God, but she does not, or she wishes and he does not, or if
either of them is seriously ill, they may be entirely separated
with the consent of both.

13. A woman who makes a vow that on the death of
VOL. III. — 17

2 5 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

her husband she will not take another, and if on his death
breaking her vow she agrees to take another, and, if moved by
penitence, she then wishes to keep her former vow, it is in the
power of the man whether she shall be released or not.

14. Theodore in one case in which a woman had admitted
such a vow, allowed her to marry a second time after eleven years.

15. If a layman makes a vow without the consent of the
bishop, the latter may dissolve it.

16. A legitimate marriage may take place either by day or
night, as it is written, "Thine is the day and Thine the night."

17. If a Gentile {i.e. an unbaptized person) put away his
Gentile wife, he may after baptism choose whether he will con-
tinue to live with her or not.

18. Similarly, if one of them is baptized and the other is a
Gentile ; for the Apostle says, " If the unbeliever depart, let
him go." If a man have a wife who is an unbeliever and a
Gentile, and will not be converted, she should be sent away.

19. If a woman leave her husband because she despises him,
and is unwilling to return to be reconciled to him, he may after
five years take another wife with the consent of the bishop.

20. In the case of a married woman who has been captured
by the enemy and cannot be redeemed, the husband may marry
again.

21. If she have been made captive in this way her husband
shall wait for her five years before he marries again, and the
woman shall do the same if the like befall her husband.

22. If a man marry a second wife and the first one returns
from captivity, he may leave the second and return to the first.
It is the same with the wife and her husband.

23. If a man's wife is carried off by the enemy and he can-
not get her back, he may take another. It is better to do this
than to commit fornication.

24. If the woman returns afterwards, she ought not to be
received by him if he have another wife, but let her take another
husband. The same rule shall apply in regard to foreign slaves.

25. According to the Greeks, marriage is allowed between
those in the third degree of affinity, as it is written in the law.
According to the Romans, the prohibition extends to the fifth
degree. Nevertheless, the latter do not dissolve marriages in the
fourth degree after they have once been undertaken. Thus they
are deemed to be regularly united in the fifth degree, while in the
fourth they are not separated if the marriage has taken place.

APPENDIX II 259

26. After the death of her husband a woman may not accept
another who is related to him in the third degree.

27. Similarly, a man cannot be joined to those who are blood
relations and to the blood relations of his wife after her death.

28. Two brothers may marry two sisters, and father and son
may marry mother and daughter.

2,S' The parents of an engaged woman cannot give her to
another man unless she resists them altogether {nisi ilia oninino
resistat). She may, however, go to a monastery if she wishes.

34. If, being married, she refuse to live with the man to
whom she is united, the money must be returned to him, with a
third more ; if he, however, decline her, he loses the marriage
gift paid with her.

35. A girl of sixteen has power over her own body.

36. A boy up to fifteen years is in the power of his father.
After that he can make himself a monk. A girl can make herself
a nun at sixteen or seventeen. After this age the father cannot
marry a girl against her consent.

Chapter xiii. is headed " De Seruis et Ancillis."

1. A father driven by necessity has the right to put his son
in servitude at the age of seven ; after that age it must be with
the son's consent.

2. At fourteen a man may make himself a slave.

3. It is not permitted to a man to take from his slave, money
which the latter has earned by his own labour.

4. If a man marry his male and female slave to one
another and afterwards either of them becomes free, if the one in
service cannot be redeemed, the other is free to marry a free
person.

5. If a free man marries a female slave, he has not the right
to divorce her without her consent.

6. If any one marry a pregnant woman who is free, the
child born from her is free.

7. If a man give her freedom to a pregnant woman who
is a slave, the child when born shall be in servitude.

Chapter xiv. — ^^ De diver sis questionibus."

I. There are three obligatory fasts which people must ob-
serve : namely, forty days before Easter (when tithes for the year
are paid), and forty days before Christmas, and after Whitsuntide
respectively, both day and night.

26o GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

2. He who fasts for a dead man helps himself only. God
alone has knowledge of the dead.

3. Laymen ought not to delay performing their promises, for
death does not tarry.

4. A servant of God ought under no circumstances to fight.
Conciliation is the role of the servants of God.

5. An infant may be exchanged for another who has been
vowed to God in a monastery, but it is better to fulfil the
vow.

6. Cattle of equal value may be exchanged if necessary.

7. A king who possesses the land of another king may give
it for his own soul.

8. What is found on a road may be kept, but if the real
owner be discovered it must be given up to him.

9. The income {tributum) of the Church is to be distributed
according to the custom of the province, but the poor are not to
be deprived of their tithe or other things by force.

10. It is not lawful to give tithes except to the poor and to
pilgrims {feregrmi), save by laymen to their own churches.

11. Out of reverence for the new birth by the Holy Spirit,
prayers are to be said at Whitsuntide in white garments, as
also at Quinquagesima.

12. A prayer may be said under a veil when necessary.

13. It is lawful for the sick to take food and drink at all
hours when they desire and are able to take it, if they cannot
take it at the fitting time.

Besides these are certain canons not found in the official col-
lection. According to Stubbs they were probably traceable to
Theodore, and are found in two collections known as the Capitula
Theodori^ and the so-called Capitula Gregorii. They are as follows :

1. A free man ought to marry a free woman.

2. At one altar, according to the Greeks, two Masses may
be said in one day. Among the Romans five may be said, on
account of the five crosses placed on it by the bishop when he
consecrates it. He who has previously eaten is not to be ad-
mitted to the kiss. (This is a repetition of the clause in the Peni-
tential^ ii. I, 2, with the addition of the words about the Greeks.)

3. A man should abstain from his wife for forty days before
Easter, in the first week after Easter, and for a week after
Pentecost. (This is like the paragraph in the Fejiitefitial^ 11. xii.
2, with the last clause added.)

APPENDIX II 261

4. Children in monasteries may eat meat until they are
fourteen.

5. The remains of dead Gentiles {i.e. unbaptized people)
should be ejected from holy places. (Cp. Fe?iitential, 11. i. 4.)

6. This clause extends to priors the provision in regard to
abbots contained in the Femte7itial, 11. vi. 4.

7. He who commits a homicide or a theft and has not com-
pounded with those whom he has injured, ought to return what
he has taken or compound for the crime when he confesses
his sin to the bishop or priest. If he have no means, however,
from which to compound, or does not know whom he has
injured, the penance must, be increased. (See Fenitential^ i. iii.
3 and I. iv. i.)

8. No one should be buried in a consecrated church, and if
it is found that there were dead people there before it is con-
secrated then it should not be consecrated. (See Penitential^ 11.

i- 4, 5-)

9. If in consequence of such burials the church is moved to
another site and the boards are washed {tabulae laventur)^ it
should be hallowed afresh. When it shall have been moved to
another place on the same site, it should be asperged with
holy water. (This is in contradiction to the clause in the
Penitential, ii. i.)

10. If a slave refuse to marry a maid belonging to his lord,
he should accept her resignation.

11. A man should not join in the common feast {non ineat
pacem communem — i.e. communicate) with an adulterous
woman, nor a woman with an adulterous man.

12. Those who eat the flesh of unclean animals or the
vegetables {olera) which are cooked with it should leave the
ministry.

13. A bishop, priest, or deacon ought to confess his sins.

14. Prayer must be offered standing, to do reverence to God.

15. If a priest arrive at a pagan farm it is better to baptize
him there in the name of the Trinity with water that has been
signed with the cross.

16. If any one casts out his father or mother he is to be
deemed impious and sacrilegious, and is to do penance for the
same length of time as his wicked action lasts.

17. He who commits self-abuse is to do one year's penance.
If he commit rape or violence on a virgin or widow, three years'.

APPENDIX III

C^DMON, THE MORNING STAR OF
ENGLISH POETRY

Among the pupils and proteges of St. Hilda, the one whose

fame has been the most lasting was the peasant boy Caedmon,

who, like Burns, learnt how to tune his harp, if not while

following the plough, in tending cattle in the byre attached to

the monastery at Whitby, — " the herdsman poet," as he has been

fitly called. All we know about his personal history has been

preserved by Bede, who was himself probably born three or four

years before his death, and who, like him, was a Northumbrian.

Bede's notice of him is touched with romance — an easy product

in a very credulous age when legends rapidly grew. He tells

us that in Hilda's monastery there was a certain brother noted

for his piety, who used to make pious verses, and whenever

some subject was interpreted to him out of Scripture, he put

it into poetical form of much sweetness and feeling in the

Anglian speech which was his native tongue {in sua id est

Anglorum lingua). Some of the Anglians who came after him

tried to compose religious poems, but none were his equals

{nullus eum aequiparare potuit), for he learnt the art of verse not

from men, nor was he taught it by a man, but by a Divine gift.

"He would never," says Bede, " compose a frivolous or foolish

poem " {frivoli et superuacui poematis). Only religious themes

were suited to his religious tongue {religiosam ejus lifigua?fi).

He had lived until he was well advanced in years {ad tefnpora

prouectioris aetatis), during which time he had followed a

secular life, before he composed any verses. In his earlier

days he shrank from such things, and when he was present at

entertainments at which it was usual for all to be gay and

for each to sing in turn, he used to rise from his place and

return home when he noticed that the liarp {cithern) was coming

towards him. This points to its having been the custom for

262

APPENDIX III 263

men at that time to sing at feasts, it also shows that playing
the harp was widely known.

Having on such an occasion left the table and gone to the
cattle byre, which it was his duty to guard during the night, he lay
down to rest at the wonted hour. When he was asleep " a certain
one " (quidam) appeared to him, and, calling him by his name,
said, "Caedmon, sing something to me" (^Caedfuon canta mihi
aliqiiid). He replied : "I do not know how to sing, and that
was the reason I left the feast and came hither." His guest,
however, again pressed him. "What must I sing?" said
Caedmon. "Sing about the beginning of created things"
{^pri7icipium creaturaruni)^ was the reply of the apparition. He
therefore began as it were spontaneously, to sing in praise of
God the Creator, in verses such as he had never heard before,
of which the sense was as follows : " We ought now to praise the
author of the Divine kingdom and the power of the Creator and
His wisdom {constlm?n) and the deeds of the Father of Glory
{facta patris gloriae). How He being the Eternal God became the
author of all miracles, who first made heaven as a protecting
roof {pro culmine tecti) for the children of men, and then as the
preserver of the human race created the earth." Bede claims this
to be a paraphrase in Latin of Caedmon's exordium. He expressly
says that his Latin translation of it preserves the sense but
not the actual words {sensus, non autein ordo ipse verborum)^ as
Caedmon sang them in his sleep, for, " as he very truly says " (and
as we all know to our cost), " verses, however well composed,
cannot be literally translated from one language to another with-
out losing much of their beauty and dignity {decoris ac dignitate)"
To return to Caedmon. Having awoke he recalled what he
had seen in his sleep, and added much more to the same effect
in verse worthy of the Deity. In the morning he repaired to his
superior, whom Bede styles the town reeve {ad vilicum^ qui sibi
praeerat), — in the English translation it reads, " To thamtungcrefan
se the his Ealdorman waes^^ — and informed him of his newly
acquired gift. He conducted him to the Abbess Hilda, and she
in turn made him repeat his verses before many learned men.
On hearing them they all concluded that he had received the
grace from the Lord. They further went on to explain to him
some passage from holy writ, either historical or doctrinal, and
bade him, if he could, to transpose it into verse. He thereupon
went away, and next morning returned with it duly converted into
excellent verse. Therefore the Abbess, recognising God's grace

264 G0LDP:N days of early ENGLISH CHURCH

in the man, counselled him to abandon his secular dress and to
adopt the calling of a monk. Having done so, he joined the
rest of the brethren in her monastery, and she ordered that he
should be taught the whole series of sacred history. " Thus,"
says Bede, using one of his odd similes, " keeping all he learnt
in his mind, and ruminating like an animal {quasi mundum
anifnal, ru7ninando\ he turned it into sweetest verse {in carmen
dulcissimuni) and repeated it harmoniously to the doctors his
hearers." ^

Bede has little else to tell us about the life of Csedmon, and
merely praises in a rhetorical sentence his goodness, zeal, and
attention to regular discipline. He concludes his account of
him, however, with a notice of his death, which has been very
naturally praised for its simplicity and beauty. " When the time
of his departure arrived," he says, " he suffered for fourteen days
under a bodily infirmity, yet so moderate that he could walk
and talk the whole time. Close by was the house into which
those who were ill and likely to die were carried. There, on
the night when he died, he bade his attendant prepare a place
for him to rest in. The servant, who wondered at the request
(for there were no signs that the end was so near), nevertheless
did as he was bidden. He was accordingly placed there, and con-
tinued to speak in a joyful and joking mood with those about him.
When midnight arrived he asked them if they had the Eucharist
within (he doubtless meant whether it was reserved in the
infirmary). They asked him what need he had of the Eucharist,
since he talked to them so joyfully, as if he were in perfect
health. He nevertheless pressed them to bring it to him.^
When he had received it into his hand, he asked if they were all
in charity with him and had no ill-will towards him. They all

' Bede, H.E., iv. 24.

^ The Rev, J. Stevenson, in reference to this passage of Bede, argues that at
this time it was not the universal practice for the communicant to receive the
sacrament directly from the hand of the priest, but that on sudden emergencies
it might be transmitted by the hands of another, and he cites in support the
Articles of Inquiry cited by Hincmar of Rheims, one of which is " Does the
priest himself visit the sick and anoint them with the holy oil and himself give
them the Holy Communion, or does he do this by another, and does he himself
give the Communion to the people, or does he give the Communion to some
lay person to carry to his house for. the use of the sick " (see Labbe, Cone, viii.
573). Stevenson also cites Ratherius, Bishop of Verona and Regino, in the
same behalf. It is also plain from Bede's account that at this time the com-
municant was permitted to receive the consecrated bread into his hand, while in
later times the custom arose of putting the consecrated wafer into his mouth.

APPENDIX III 265

replied they were so, and asked in return if he felt kindly to them
all. ' My brethren,' he said, ' I am in charity with you and all
God's servants'; and thus strengthening himself with the
heavenly viaticum he prepared himself to enter into another
life. He then asked how long it would be before the brethren
would rise to say their nones {nocturnae), and when they said it
was not far off, he replied that it was well and that he would
wait till that hour. Then, signing himself with the sign of the
cross, he laid his head on his pillow, and falling into a gentle
slumber he ended his life in silence. Thus," says Bede, "his
tongue, which had uttered so many words in praise of the Creator,
uttered its last words while he was signing himself with the cross
and recommending his spirit into the hands of God."^

Caedmon is supposed to have died in the year 680. He was
buried in the monastery at Whitby, and there, according to
William of Malmesbury, his bones were discovered in the twelfth
century with those of other saints. " Inventa sunt noviter, id est
ante initium seculi xii . . . sanctoru7n corpora Trumwini episcopi ;
Oswii regis et Aelfledae filiae ejus ; . . . necnon et illius monachi
quern divi?io muneri sdentia?n cantus accepisse Beda refertP ^

Caedmon's name appears in the Anglo-Roman calendar in
some examples on the loth and in others on the nth February.
There is no known authority for either date.

Let us now turn to the question of his personality and works,
which have aroused a good deal of ingenious and much futile
speculation in modern times.

One of the acutest and most informing historians of this
period of our history. Sir Francis Palgrave, who was a Jew by
origin and was inspired sometimes by the imaginative fancy of
his race, altogether questioned the fact of Caedmon having been
a possible name for an Englishman, and argued that it was in
fact a kind of symbolical name. He says that "the name
Caedmon has no meaning in the Anglian tongue, adding that the
Jews name Genesis from its first word ^. Rashid (in the begin-
ning). This, Onkelos the Aramaic translator, translates by
Cadmin, meaning the same thing, and when the Anglo-Saxon
poet translated Genesis they called him Caedmon or Cadmon
instead of Cadmin. Inasmuch as the Culdees, who were the
masters of the monks of Streaneshealh, derived their ritual and
their theology from Jerusalem and Egypt instead of Rome, this
accounts for the whole thing."

^ Bede, iv. 24. ^ G.P., iii. 116.

266 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

It would be difficult to match this sample of perversity.
That a country boy in Northumberland with a gift for poetry
should have had among the simple monks at Whitby teachers
who could point out to him not only the Jewish name for
Genesis, but also the Aramaic one, and that Bede should have
been misled into giving, by mistake, to a monk (who must have
been more than usually well known) the name for Genesis, is
really fantastic, and is completely answered by the fact pointed
out by Wiilker that Caedmon or Cadmon, instead of being an
unknown Anglian name, was in fact a well-known one. As he
says : " Da sich der Eigenname Caedmon ( = nauta, oder piratd)
erklaren lasst fallt auch damit der unglaublice zweite Teil von
Palgrave's aufstellung."

While Palgrave was alone in doubting the English name and
personality of Caedmon, quite an army of critics has busied itself
with the intricate questions surrounding his works, some having
even suggested that he was little more than a name, and that the
works attributed to him really belong to others. This conclusion
has chiefly been the outcome of the perverse subjective methods
of German criticism.

The first thing to remember in the discussion (a fact which
was much overlooked by the earlier writers), is that in the
beginning of the eighth century there were two distinct dialects,
which might be almost called languages, spoken by the English :
one, the tongue of the Northumbrians, and the other spoken by
the people south of the Humber and the Lune.

Secondly, so far as we have evidence, there was no literary work
composed in the vernacular of Southern England until much later
times; such work in the earlier time was confined to Northumbria.
On this point an excellent authority speaks plainly : " It is a remark-
able fact," says Professor Horstman, " that Anglo-Saxon poetry is
almost exclusively confined to the North of England, and to the
ancient kingdom of Northumbria. . . . Here, in 674, Benedict
Biscop founded the monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow, where
Beda (d. 735) wrote ; in the school of York, founded by Beda's
friend Egbert, Alcuin taught ; at Whitby under Abbess Hilda lived
Caedmon the poet; and Cynewulf was a Northumbrian."^ It is
perfectly plain in fact that Caedmon, who was a Northumbrian of
humble birth, must have spoken and written in the Northumbrian
speech. Now it happens that although Northumbria was no
doubt the part of England where almost alone in early Saxon
^ Richard Rolle of Hampole, p. vi.

APPENDIX III 267

times the vernacular literature flourished, we have scarcely any
remains of it extant in its original form and dialect. This is a
real measure of the devastation which overwhelmed all culture
there, when its monasteries and other religious establishments were
destroyed by the Danes. We cannot expect therefore to find any
considerable poem of Csedmon in the form in which he wrote
it. We are not, however, without some samples. In the most
important MS. of Bede (probably, says Hardy, written in his life-
time), which is known as Bishop Moore's MS., and is preserved
in the public library at Cambridge, where it is numbered K.K. 16,
fol. 128 v., there is an entry in the margin in a hand differing
from, but nearly contemporary with, the one in which the bulk of
the MS. was written, which is known as Caedmon's hymn, and is
written in the Northumbrian dialect. The same exordium occurs
in a West Saxon form in other MSS. of Bede and is also entered
in the margin. It is quoted by Bede as representing the Divine
hymn which was heard by Caedmon.

As Mr. Plummer says, the Northumbrian version is much
older than the other, and being Northumbrian is more likely
to represent what Csedmon actually sang than any other,
and as it is extant in a MS. not much later than the death
of Bede, this Northumbrian version must represent what was
believed in his time to be a genuine work of Caedmon. There
can be no doubt that if it was composed by Csedmon, the
Northumbrian version must be the original form, and the West
Saxon one must be a later translation. Its genuineness has
been defended by Wanley, Bouterwek, Ettmiiller, Stephens,
Hammerich, Grein, Ten Brink, Zupitza, Wiilker, and Sarrasin.
Wiilker says of it : " Ich . . . sehe in der Nordhumbrischen
Fassung des Hymnus den Text, welcher in 8 jahrhundert als
derjenige gait welchen Caedmon am Beginne seiner Dichter-
laufbahn dichtete." ^ Sarrasin, writing in 1913, says: "Die
Sprache des Kadmonischen Hymnus dessen Echtheit jetzt wohl
nicht mehr bestritten wird." ^

It will be interesting to give the words of this hymn, inas-
much as they form the very first composition in any kind
of English that is extant. The only suggestion that has been
made on the other side is that the lines in question are
a retranslation into Northumbrian English of the southern
version of the hymn. Apart from its a priori improbability,

^ " Grundriss zur Gesch. der Angelsachsischen Literalur," p. 120.
^ Von Kaedmon bis Kynewulf^ 17.

268 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

this is ridiculous, since it occurs in a marginal note of an
eighth-century MS. in a writing much earlier than the southern
version. The hymn is as follows : —

Northumbrian Edition. Wessex Edition.

Nu scylun hergan Nu we sculon herian

heboen ricoes uard heofonrices we[ard]

metudoes moccti metoddes mihte

end his modgidane and hi[s] modgepane

uere uuldur fadur weore wu[l]dor feeder

sue he uundra gihuaes swa he wu[n]dra gehwile

eci drictin ece drih[ten]

or astelidse word astealde

he serist scop he serest gescop

celda barnum ylda [bear]num

heben til hrofe heofen to rofe

haleg scepen [halig] scippend

tha middun geard middan ear[de]

moncynnses uard mann cynnes weard

eci dryctin ece drihten

sefter tiad^, aefter tid[a]

firum fol'du fyrum on foldum

frea allmectig.^ frea ealmihti.'^

We will now give the verse in translation : —

Now must we praise

the Guardian of Heaven's kingdom,

the Creator's might,

and his mind's thought.

Glorious Father of men,

as of every wonder. He,

Lord Eternal,

formed the beginning.

He first framed

for the children of earth

the heaven as a roof ;

Holy Creator

then mid earth.

The Guardian of mankind,

the eternal Lord,

afterwards produced

the earth for men,

Lord Almighty. 2

This hymn is not the only fragment of Northumbrian poetry
which has been attributed to Cnedmon's own pen. Among the

^ Plummer's Bede^ ii. 251, 252.

"^ Thorpe's Ccedmon, xxii. and xxiii., and Bede's paraphrase as given above.

APPENDIX III 269

finest monuments dating from Anglo-Saxon times is the Ruthwell
cross, which will occupy us again presently. It is now preserved
in the church at Ruthwell, near Annan, in Dumfriesshire. As
we shall see, it almost certainly dates from the beginning of the
seventh century. On this great cross there are sculptured a
number of fragments of a poem written in runic characters.
This cross and the inscription on it have given rise to many
polemics. I will abstract the story, which is interesting and
instructive, from Professor Stephens's great work on runic
inscriptions.

The first person to publish an engraving of the stone was
Hickes, in his Thesaurus^ in which he figured the four sides ; this
was in 1703. He made no comment on it. In 1722 Gordon
published figures of the two sides containing runic inscriptions.
In the beginning of the next century Dr. Duncan, who re-erected
the cross, also copied the four sides for the use of the Icelandic
scholar Repp, who wrote a treatise on it and was the first to
attempt a translation of it. The cross was again published in
the Vetusta Monumenta, vol. ii. plates 54 and 55. G. J. Thorkelin,
the Icelandic antiquary, visited England in 1786, and obtained
a copy of the plates in the Vetusta Monui?ienta, which he pre-
sented to his countryman. Fin Magnussen, who wrote the first
professedly scientific memoir upon the stone, entitled Om obelisken
i Ruthwell. This was in 1837.

The memoirs of Repp and Magnussen were excellent
examples of the futility of attempting an interpretation of English
runic inscriptions by men who do not know our Early English
tongue, however well they know German or Scandinavian. Of
their version, says Stephens, the less said the better. Their
ingenious authors were entirely out of the track. Both invented
a new language in which the words were said or made to be
written, some kind of bastard Pictish. Repp asserted that the
monument recorded the gift of a font (which, according to him,
the runes call a Christ-bason) and of certain cows and lands in
Ashlafardhal (a place which never existed) by the monks of
Therfuse (a monastery never heard of). Magnussen "makes
it to be the record of Ashlofs marriage settlements, adding all
sorts of wild and absurd statements, the whole amid a cloud
of misplaced erudition. The fact was, that neither of these
gentlemen knew Old English, the language of the pillar which
they were studying."^

^ Stephens, i. 409, 410.

270 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

The first person to attack the inscriptions successfully was
Kemble, our own great Saxon scholar, to whom the obligations of
English scholarship have never been sufficiently acknowledged.
In his famous paper on the runes of the Anglo-Saxons, published
in 1840, he, i?iter alia^ translated the runic writing on the Ruth well
cross, which he showed was a Christian memorial and that the
letters formed twenty lines, more or less complete, of a poem on
the Holy Rood, i.e. the Cross of Christ, in old North English
(commonly called Old Northumbrian). It is pleasant to think
that Fin Magnussen was the first to announce that Kemble was
right and that he himself had been wrong. Kemble did not assign
the lines to any particular poet, nor had he a complete copy of
the runes before him.

The next step that was taken in clearing the story was when
in 1856 the late Rev. Daniel Haigh, in a paper printed in the
Archaeologia Aeliana (Nov. 1856, pp. 149-195) on the Saxon
cross at Bewcastle, made the happy conjecture that the Ruthwell
cross was erected about the year 665 and contained fragments
of a religious poem of very high character, and that there was
only one man living in England at the time worthy to be named
as a religious poet, and that was Csedmon.^

In 1 86 1 the same writer wrote his Conquest of Britain.
In this he says of the poem we are discussing : " It was
probably one of those which Caedmon, who was living at the
time when these monuments {i.e. the Bewcastle and Ruthwell
crosses) were erected, composed," adding : " That they belong
to the seventh century cannot be doubted ; they contain forms
of the language which are evidently earlier even than those which
occur in the contemporary version of Bseda's verses in a MS. at
St. Gallen, and the copy of Csedmon's first song at the end of
the Hist. Ecd.y which was completed two years after its author's
death." 2

Stephens says of this suggestion of Haigh's : " This splendid
and daring assumption in implication has now been proved by
the stone itself." And may I add, proved by the equally potent
skill of Professor Stephens himself.

He was the first who gave a really correct copy of the entire
inscriptions from careful rubbings and tracings that he had
received from Mr. Maughan and Father Haigh. He was thus able
to give for the first time what was most important, namely, a
correct reading of the inscription on the top stone of the cross —
» Op. cit. 173. 3 Op. cit. 39.

APPENDIX III 271

a very critical part of the monument, and which had been
strangely overlooked. It then became clear that the figure of a
man which occupied one side of it was that of St. John, with
an inscription in Latin letters plainly reading " In princ . . .
verbum . . .," which is a fragment of the opening passage of
St. John's Gospel. On the other was the eagle of the same
Evangelist, with the words, "Cadmon maefauoe]^o," being,
says Stephens, " a bind-rune." " In regard to this reading,"
he says, " there is no doubt, and all are agreed."^ The word,
says Stephens, is a form oi faked^ fadged^ fawed^ fayed ^vaf3cs\\x\%
composed, made.^ Elsewhere he says that it is a form of the
verb which King Alfred uses in the sense of composing a song,
namely, ged ge/egean.^ Stephens's reading has been adopted as
unquestionable by a second English scholar highly skilled in
reading our runes, namely. Bishop Browne.

From the concurrence of evidences here adduced, Stephens
concluded, and I think unanswerably, that the poem on the
stone was in fact composed by Caedmon, the protege of St.
Hilda. This conclusion is a perfectly simple and complete
explanation of the facts, but it would not satisfy those who
cannot tolerate simple explanations but are always in search of
intricate ones, and who are always finding what they search for,
namely, mare's nests. It could not be disputed that the name
on the cross was Csedmon, as attested by two of the most
competent authorities on our English runes, and that it was
associated on the cross with just such a poem as our Caedmon
would have written, and was composed in the language he spoke
and at the time he lived. All this went for nothing with these
transcendental spinners of cobwebs. They would have it that
the name (an uncommon one) was that of the carver of the stone
and not the author of the poem, a conclusion as arbitrary as
anything could be, and entirely based on subjective speculations
and not on any valid induction. The association on a cross of
the early seventh century of Caedmon's name with a poem which
was precisely the kind of poem he would have written in the very
dialect he spoke is conclusive to me, as it was to Mr. Haigh, Dr.
Stephens, and Bishop Browne. The hymn on the margin of the
Moore MS. and the poem on the Ruthwell cross are the only
remains of Caedmon's verse which are extant in their original
form and language.

It is not surprising, however, that in the time of Alfred and
^ Stephens, op, cit. i. 419. "^ Op. cit, ii. 920. ' Op. cit. i. 419.

272 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

later, and when so much of the earlier poetry of the North
and East of England which had survived the Danish destruction
was translated into another dialect, the poems of Caedmon
should fill a notable place, for, apart from their merit, Bede had
given them a special prestige.

Let us now turn to what we know of these translations. Mr.
Stopford Brooke has given an interesting account of one of them.
He says Archbishop Ussher, hunting in England for books and
manuscripts with which to enrich the library of Trinity College,
Dublin, found a manuscript and gave it to Francis Dujon, a
scholar of Leyden, who is known in literature as Junius. He
was then librarian to Lord Arundel, and when he left for the
Continent in 1650 he took care to have the MS. printed at
Amsterdam. He published it as the work of Caedmon, having
come to the conclusion on the ground of the substantial agree-
ment between the first lines of the MS. and the Latin abstract
which Bede made of the verse that it was the song which
Csedmon had sung in his dreams. He afterwards brought it
back to England, where it eventually found a home at the
Bodleian. Mr. Stopford Brooke claims that not improbably he
showed the book to Milton, who was familiar with Bede's
writings, and that Milton in fact had the book before him when
composing Paradise Lost}

The book is a small folio of 229 pages. The first 212 pages
are written in a fair hand, apparently of the tenth century, while
the other 17 pages formed a second book, written in an inferior
handwriting and a less grammatical style and more inaccurate
orthography. The earlier part of the MS. down to p. 212
consists of a paraphrase of parts of the Old Testament and of
the Apocrypha, comprising Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, and the
prayer of Azariah, and is written in a good handwriting with
rude pictures ; and the second, in a more modern handwriting,
includes verses on the fall of the rebel Angels, the Harrowing
of Hell, the Resurrection and the Ascension, Pentecost, the
Last Judgment, and the Temptation. ^

Now it is clear that not only does the exordium of the poem
in the Bodleian book agree with the portion preserved in the
margin of Moore's MS. of Bede, except that it is written in
another dialect, but that the rest of it answers very closely to
the subject-matter of Caedmon's complete poems as described

^ See Brooke, Hisiory of Early English Poetry, ii. 69 and 70.
^ Brooke, op. cit. ii. 67 and 68.

APPENDIX III 273

by Bede. Thus, Bede says that in his first poem he first sang
of the doctrine of the Apostles ; he also sang many songs of
the terror of the future judgment and of the horror of the pains
of hell {poe?iae gehennalis) and the delights of the heavenly
kingdom, and also many more about the divine benefits and
judgments, in all of which he tried to turn men's minds from
the love of vice, and to induce them to the love of what was
good and to application to good actions.^

This description of Caedmon's works is clear enough,
and it will be remembered that it was written by a singularly
clear-headed historian who was virtually a contemporary, and
was living when the full glow of the poet's fame was still
alive, and when there must have been a large number of
people living who had known him in the flesh and were
quite competent to inform him of the true facts of the
case. It is no wonder, therefore, that all the editors of
these poems from the time of Junius, e.g. Thorpe, Bouterwek,
and Grein, have agreed in attributing them to Caedmon.
Some of the critics^ however, have argued differently, and
a notable one lived as long ago as the seventeenth century.
This was Hickes, in his Thesaurus^ i. 133. He urged that
the language was not that of Caedmon, in which he showed
considerable acumen, for it is now clear that, as in the case of
much other Anglo-Saxon poetry, the language of the Bodleian
book (which is in the Wessex dialect) was not the language of a
Northumbrian poet, but of a tenth-century translator. This
does not, however, affect the question that the substance of
the poems in the book was the work of Caedmon, nor that the
translator sometimes paraphrased his text and sometimes also
interpolated it. The subjective method of analysis by which only
the best parts of a poem are attributed to the master while
the poorer ones are ascribed to a weaker hand seems to be
most misleading. Poets of all men are most apt to be unequal.
Two very typical instances are Wordsworth and Keats. In one
case only do I think the existence of a really important inter-
polation has been proved in the poems we are discussing,
namely, in that on Genesis, where Sievers seems to have clearly
shown that the portion of the poem from line 234 to line
852, which has been referred to as "Genesis B," and contains a
second account of the Fall of man, has been taken from another
version of that story as paraphrased in some other similar poem

^ Bede, H.E., iv. 24,
VOL. III. — 18

274 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

written by another poet. It differs from the rest in metre,
manner, style, and language. This may well be. Sievers's
further argument about this interpolated part has not received
the assent of other writers. He claims that it resembles in style,
language, etc., that of a part of the famous Old Saxon poem
known as the Heliand, and that, like it, it contains evidence that
it was partly dependent on a Latin poet of the fifth century. He
therefore claims that the interpolated section in the Bodleian
book was originally written in Old Saxon by the author of the
Heliand. To this view Wiilker demurs. He says : " Wahrend
niemand die Richtigkeit der scharfsinnigen Entdeckung eines
engen Zusammen-hanges von B mit der altsachsischen Dichtung
deren Wort und Formelschatz wir allerdings nur nach dem
Heliand beurteilen konnen, in Abrede stellen wird, und gar keine
zwingenden Beweis gegeben, dass B nun gerade eine Dichtung
vom Verfasser des Heliands sein miisse. Sievers selbst bringt
S. 2 2 grunde vor, welche dagegen sprechen. Aber allerdings
wenn B nicht vom Heliand-Dichter geschrieben ist, dann biisst
die Abhandlung von Sievers einen in Teil ihres interesses ein.''^
The fact is, that there is the greatest uncertainty about the
date of the Heliand. The preface upon which some have relied
for an early date for it, which is alone consistent with Sievers's
theory, does not occur with the text of the work in the two MSS.,
and was first published by Flacius lUyricus in 1562, and his MS.
cannot be traced. It has been with probability considered a
forgery of Flacius. This was the view held by Schulte, writing
in 1873, and its contents suggest the conclusion, for they refer
to the poet in language which is only an echo of that applied by
Bede to Csedmon. Sievers's reply was based on one trifling point
only, which is entirely outweighed by a mass of other evidence.
It depends on a use of a certain word at a certain date in those
early times, which is very dangerous to base a far-reaching induction
upon, when we remember how very scanty the documents of that
time are. The preface in question makes the poet of the Heliand
a mere inspired rude peasant, but inasmuch as he has clearly
made use of the works of Bede he must have known Latin.
This most dubious document, be it noted, is the only authority
for dating the Heliand so early as the reign of Louis i., a
date otherwise improbable, since the Saxons had then been
so recently converted to Christianity that it is hardly likely the
poem could have been written in his time. The oldest MS.,
^ Wiilker, op. cit. 127 and 128, note 3.

APPENDIX III 275

I believe, dates from late in the tenth century, and I should be
disposed to put its composition about that time, and to conclude
that it is much more likely that it was a translation from English
than that the English poems in the Bodleian book were derived
from it or some other Old Saxon original. It is not improbable
in regard to the larger part of it, namely, the Genesis, that it was
taken from two English poems on the subject, for there is certainly
a duplication of part of the narrative, and that only the earlier part
of it, together with the conclusion, was taken from the Wessex
version of Caedmon's Northumbrian paraphrase. Who wrote the
middle part, which differs much in style and other respects from
the rest, we do not know.

The Exodus section, it is generally agreed, is by one author
and not a compilation, and there is no good reason for attri-
buting it in its original form to any one but Caedmon, and so also
with the Daniel and the prayer of Azariah, all of which answer to
Bede's description of Caedmon's work. The same applies to the
fragmentary poem forming the second part of the Bodleian MS. and
relating to the harrowing of hell, etc. Let us now turn elsewhere.

In 1833 Professor Bluhme found a MS. (a half-ruined skin,
says Stephens) written in the Southern or Wessex dialect of Old
English, and which had been preserved in the Conventual Library
of Vercelli in north Italy. This was published about the years 1836
or 1837 (Appendix B to Cooper's Report on the Feeder a) ^ and was
admirably edited by Thorpe. Among its contents was a poem,
entitled by Thorpe " The Holy Rood — A Dream," and consisting
of 314 lines. It describes the vision of the Cross as it appeared to
a pious sleeper, and gives the beautiful and sublime address of the
Cross itself, picturing the Passion of the Saviour. This poem
was seen by Mr. Kemble, who recognised that certain of its lines
were the counterpart of those he had found in the Rood poem
on the cross at Ruthwell. This conclusion he published in the
Archceologia for 1843. So exact had been his text and version,
says Stephens, that the discovery of this MS. copy only left him to
correct three letters.^ The result of Kemble's discovery was the
conclusion that the poem in the Vercelli MS. was in substance
a work of the seventh century, originally written in the North-
umbrian speech, and afterwards translated into West Saxon.^
Stephens, speaking of this transformation in the case of the Rood
poem, says: "The whole lay is now extant only in the orthodox
South English, a Wessex or Book or Court-dialect into which

^ Op. cit, i. 410. 2 Stephens, i. 410.

276 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

everything was transcribed in the later times previous to the
Norman period. But we are now familiar with this operation. It
deceives no one. And even still we can often perceive in these
South English transcripts, peculiarities distinctive of far older
texts, or distinct * shire ' speeches, sometimes of a clearly North
English original from which the scribe was making his ' amended '
'Lindley-Murray'-ised and more or less interpolated copy."^

In 1865 Professor Dietrich published a memoir at Marburg on
the cross at Ruthwell, and the poem upon it, in which he claimed
to show that the latter coincided with the Vercelli Rood poem. He
had, in fact (as learned Germans too often do in the case of English
work), overlooked Kemble's splendid monograph on the subject
published twenty-two years before, in which that conclusion had
been proved. This he in fact presently acknowledged in a later
review of Kemble's work.^ He assigned the poem to Cynewulf,
Bishop of Lindisfarne, 737-780, who died in 782, but, as Stephens
says, the lay is a century older, as the stone itself shows. Dietrich
did not know of the conclusive fact established by the presence
of Csedmon's name on the stone. He also, as does Grein,
mistakenly reads til anum, instead of // lanum. This, says
Stephens, is forbidden by the stave rune, for if we read anum^
we should have the same vowel as the al in the next line, which
is inadmissible. " He also," says Stephens, " has some strange
readings of the two Thorsbjerg pieces and of some bracteates." ^

Stephens says, further: "A careful examination of the South
English copy (see the Glossary) shows that the scribe was writing
from a North English original, even in those lines which are not
carved on the cross. But in addition hereto, a slight acquaintance
with the ' Dream ' will at once make us aware of one very striking
peculiarity of style. This is an extraordinary mixture of accents.
Commonly we have the usual two-accented line. But every now
and then, under the pressure of poetic excitement or personal
taste, or the traditions of a local school, the bard breaks out
into three, sometimes four accents in one line, then sinking back
again into the regular double tone-weight." Stephens then
gives an example from the poem, lines 7-24, and continues :
*'As far as I know, this rhythmical peculiarity is unknown in
Old English verse except here, in C;^dmon's Paraphrase and in
that noble epical fragment ' Judith.' And I venture to assert
that all these are by one and the same Scop. Ccedf/iofi wrote

* Op. cit. i. 411. 2 See the Gott, gel. atiz. for the 5th of July 1865.

' Op. cit. i. 405.

APPENDIX III 277

them all. They have all the same colour, all the same Miltonic
sublimity, the same steeling of phrase, the same sinking back,
not only to the two-accented line, but sometimes to an almost
prosaic simplicity in the intervals of his flights of genius. I am
thus led to do for 'Judith ' what Mr. Haigh did for the * Dream.'
I attribute it to Ca:dmon. After-discovery has proved the
latter to be right ; probably we shall never be able to produce
direct evidence with regard to ' Judith. ' " ^ In regard to the date
of the Ruthwell cross, which is a critical matter when dealing with
the authorship of the poem, Stephens further says : " So we
gaze on these baptized Runic runes stones more potent than all
the Troll-runes of Heathenry. All the dates are strictly in
accordance herewith. It cannot be later than the latter half of the
seventh century, for it bears a grammatical form so antique (the
accusative dual ungcet) that it has hitherto only been met with in
this place, while the workmanship also points to the same period." ^

In 1873 the Dane Hammerich wrote a notable work on
the oldest Christian epic, which was translated into German the
following year. He speaks quite positively in regard to Caedmon
being the poet of the Rood poem. I prefer to use his own words
in German translation : " Die saule muss namlich ungefahr gegen
Ende des 7 Jahrhunderts, also wahrend Kaedmons Lebenzeit
Oder doch kurz nach seinem ableben errichtet worden sein.
Hierauf fiihren uns mit Bestimmheit der stil des Denkmals, seine
Schriftziige, endhch die altertiimliche Sprache welche nur
Deklinations und Conjugationsform zeigt die in keine der uns
erhaltenen Handschriften ueber gegangen sind."^ Hammerich
speaks equally positively about the "Judith" poem.

At present only fragments of the Rood poem as originally in-
scribed exist on the weather-beaten stone, but Stephens suggests
that if we had the cross in its original integrity it is not improbable
that the whole of the poem would be preserved on it. Thus, he
speaks of one lacuna of fourteen lines as being necessary to the
sense. The fragments are short and sublime, he says, and in the
poet's best manner, "and the lost lines have probably stood on one
side of the base, or one of the arms of the cross." Again, of another
portion of five lines which is now absent, he says : " These five
lines have perhaps been graven on another side of the base or
the other arms of the cross," and he concludes (should this view
be correct) that the whole cross-lay has consisted of about forty-
four or forty-six lines from C^dmon's own hands. As his sense
^ Op. cit. 419, 420. 2 /^^ ^20. 3 Qp^ (-1^^ p_ 24 ; see also Walker, 137.

278 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

is simpler and terser in some places than the later South English
more or less altered and interpolated copy, the forty-seven lines
of the polished and modernised skin-book would answer to about
forty-four or forty-six of the original North English poem.^

This conclusion seems most reasonable, and if it be so, we may
add a corollary equally plausible, namely, that the poem was not
improbably actually composed for this very cross by Caedmon.
I will now give the fragments of the poem preserved on the cross
in juxtaposition with the corresponding part of the West Saxon
version, or rather " extension " contained in the Vercelli Codex.

[On]-geredse hinae

God almeyottig

Sa he walde

On galgu gistiga

Modig fore

[Ale] men

[B]ug [a ic ni dars] te

Line 'J'J. On-gyrede hine pa geong haeleS
set wses God selmihtig
Strang and stid-mod
ge-stah he on gealgan heanne
modig on manigra gesyhSe
pa he wolde mancyn lysan
Bifode ic pa me se beorn ymbelypte
ne dorste ic hwse'grebugan to
cordan

[Ahof] ic Rllcnoe cuningc
Heafunaes Hlafard
Hoelda ic [n]i darstse

Line 87. rod woes ic a sacred
Ahof ic ricne cyning
heofona hlaford
hyldan me ne dorste

Line 95.

Bismaersedu ungcet men ba 3et-gad[r]e

Ic [wses] mid blodse bistemid
Bi[g]ot[e]n o[f]

Bysmeredon hie unc butu set

gaedere
call ic wses mid blode bestemed
begoten of pses guman sidan

Krist wsees on rodi
HwseSrse per fusae
Fearran kwomu
^SSilse ti lanum
Ic pset al bi[h]eal[d]
S[are] ic waes
Mip sorgu[m] gi[d]roe[fe]d
H[u]ag [ic]

Christ woes on rode
Hvaedere hoer fuse
feorran cwoman
to pam osSeHnge
ic poet eall beheold
Sare ic woes
mid [sorgum] gedrefed
Huaji ic hwaedre

Mip strelum giwundad

A-legdun hise hinse limwoerignae
Gisloddun him [cet] h[isl]ieaes

[h]eaf{du]m
[Bi]hea[lldu[n] hi[3e] [pe[r] heafun

eall ic waes mid stroelum for-

wundod
aledon hie deer limeverigne
gestodon him aet his lices heafdum

bcheoldon hie
dryhten.

'iSxr heofen es

* Op. cit. i. 415.

APPENDIX III 279

Let us now try and shortly analyse the peculiarities of
Ca^dmon's verse. Like other early Teutonic poetry it was
marked by a special form which also prevailed in all the other
extant Anglo-Saxon verse, and which has been admirably and
tersely described by my very accomplished friends, Yorke Powell
and Vigfussen in their Corpus Poeticum Boreale. I will give
their account, which may not be familiar to my readers. They
emphasise that this early poetry " knows no rhymes, alliteration
being its sole bond ; so many sets of alliteration, so many lines ;
nor was this primitive poetry insistent on a strict number of
syllables in each line, nor was it divided into strophes. Every
line of old Teutonic poetry is a blank verse divided into two
halves by a Ihie pause which always comes at the end of a word.

" Each half is made up of a fixed number of measures, a measure
being a word, or number of words, of which the first root syllable
is stressed {i.e. forcibly pronounced), as one does in speaking
when one wishes to draw particular attention to a particular
word or syllable ; e.g.^ We want it, we want it. A measure
never ends nor begins in the middle of a word, such affixes as
-ge^ -for^ -U7n^ -be, being treated as separate words in poetry ; com-
pounds and strong inflexions are like separate words.

" In every line two stress-syllables at least, one in each half-
line, must begin with a similar consonant or vowel (these
vowels being usually different, and in later Northern poetry
always so). Stress-syllables thus alliterated are said to carry
letter-stress.

"In many lines there occur one or more unstressed syllables
which form, as it were, the elastic, unmeasured part of the line ;
these for the want of a better term we call slurred syllables, or
collectively, a slur. It is not meant that these syllables are
gabbled over ; they may be spoken fast or slow, but that they
are redundant or unimportant for the ' make ' or structure of
the verse, and that they would be less emphasised and spoken in
a less vigorous tone than the rest of the line. There may be
one or more slurs in a line.

" When a monosyllabic word is stressed and followed by no
enclitic words before the next stress, it is succeeded by a short
interval of silence, which we call a rest\ such a monosyllable with
its rest is a measure in itself.

" Quantity is observed in some measures as in Greek verse.
There are two kinds of rhy?ne or sound-echo used in later
Northern metres : full-rhyme, which may be single^ ' take ' and

2 8o GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

' bake/ and double, ' taking ' and ' baking,' consonant rhyme,
or co7iso?iance, as ' take ' and ' cook.'

" Rliymes may be end-rhymes^ coming one at the end of each
half-Hne or Hne of a set, or they may be line-rhymes^ coming
both within one half-line : line-rhymes may come in any stem-
syllable of a word.

"A set of lines may form a verse-group which is called a
stanza.

" A set of lines or of stanzas may form a longer group called
a strophe.

"A line or lines may be used at necessary intervals as a
refrain or burden.^''

Again, our authors say : '* In the beginning poetry was simply
excited prose and emphatic prose with repetitions of catchwords,
and such was no doubt the primitive Teuton poetry. . . . With
the Teutons alliteration of stressed root-syllables was the pivot
on which his metric turned. The Teutons having no musical
instruments when we first know them, and having a tongue whose
structure did not lend itself well to a purely quantitative system,
seem to have hit upon the development of that alliterative stress,
which is a feature in almost all early verse, naturally satisfying
that marked love of repetition which is seen in all children's and
savages' songs and speeches.

" In the older Teutonic law Formulae, and in the old Latin
Saturnians, we seem to get specimens of the earlier stage before
regular verse of the alliterative type was completely reached,
when all the necessary factors were already present — line pause,
stresses, and alliteration, but before the artist had arisen who
was to fix the type. This great Unknown had, however, arisen
before the English crossed the North Sea, for we find the same
line, well-marked and unmistakable, in the oldest remains of the
German, the Scandinavian, and the English races.

"Its finest specimens are to be found in England, in the
Vercelli book and the Caedmon MS., whence, says Yorke Powell,
we have called this type of line the Csedmonian line. In the
lay of the Rood (preserved in the Vercelli book), attributed to
Caedmon as it seems on the Ruthwell cross, we have the purest
extant piece of poetry in this metre. ... It may be fully de-
scribed as a four-measured line 2 : 2 (two measures in each half),
with two letter-stresses in the first half and one in the second,
the third letter-stress being the strongest, the first weak, the
second the weakest. Sometimes there is but one letter-stress in

APPENDIX III 281

the first half-line. There is frequently a ' slur ' of several words,
and this is always j)laced at the beginning of a line or half-line.
Ciedmon himself prefers to put it after \.\\<i line-pause, and as is well
shown in the Rood Song this is far the best place, artistically
speaking, for it. Occasionally ... it heads both halves of the
line. The slur is spoken in a low but distinct recitative : it is
the elastic part of the line and forms a background to the
emphatic stresses which stud the line. The effect of such un-
stressed syllables was soon noticed and taken advantage of.

" The last syllables of each C^edmonian half-line appears to
have in preference the quantity - «^. . . . There would be a very
good reason for this strict and regular finish before each pause ;
one wants to feel when the end of the half-line is coming, in such
a long and varying metre as this.^

I will now give a sample or two in translation to show the
vigour and force with which the Bible story was paraphrased,
and how picturesquely the tale was told. Courthope in his
History of English Poetry, i. 99, remarks of one phase : —

"It is most significant to observe how many of the fundamental
notions of Teutonic mythology and custom are interwoven with
Caedmon's reproductions of the Scripture narrative. Thus the
image by which the Bible always suggests the torments of
Gehenna is fire ; but the old German conception of Nifleheimer,
or the underworld, was a place of cold and mist, and these
conflicting ideas are strangely blended in many passages at the
opening of Caedmon's ' Genesis,' in which the poet seeks to point
the abode of the devil. For example : —

" ' Then was God angry and wroth with that host whom
formerly He had honoured with beauty and renown. For those
traitors He shaped a house of banishment with anguish for their
reward, the groans of hell, hard punishments. Our Lord,
Guardian of Spirits, bade a house of torment await the exiles,
deep and void of joys. When He knew that it was ready,
furnished with perpetual night, charged with sulphur, filled
throughout with fire, with intense cold, smoke and red flame,
then through that house void of comfort He bade the dread
of torment to increase.' ^ And again : ' Therefore stern, in a worse
light, God had placed them triumphless in a dark hole ; there at
even they have, each of the fiends, an immeasurably long renewal
of fire ; and ere dawn comes, the east wind, frost, bitter cold,

^ Op. cit. i. 431-435. ^ Paraphrase by Thorpe, p. 3.

282 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

piercing like fire or dart.' ^ Mists, too, and vapours prevail in
this region, as thus : * God Himself hath swept us into these
swart mists (thas sweartan mis]?a).' " ^

In the Teutonic creed, adds Mr. Courthope, monstrous ser-
pents wander round the world like the Mitgards Orme ; or lurk
underneath it like the snakes that haunt the Spring Hvergelmir,
or the dreadful reptile which fought with Thor. A reminiscence
of these horrors pervades the description of hell as painted in the
Descensus ad Inferos. " Even at hell-gate dragons dwell, hot in
spirit; they may not help us."^ Hence it is imagined that the
"floor is on fire with venom scorched," and hell itself is described
as a "horrid den with venom blended."* Mr. Courthope well
remarks that the vivid descriptions of hell in the poem could
only have occurred to one steeped in the tradition of polytheism.
Thus the poet says : " Verily he might hear who was twelve miles
from hell, that there were teeth grinding loud and mournful." ^

And when in the " Harrowing of Hell " Satan is cast finally into
the burning pit, it is said that when he stood on the bottom
there seemed to him to be from thence to hell-gate one hundred
thousand miles of measured space.^

" Something, too, of the old heathen terror of the Mark land
fills the minstrel's animated rendering of the march of the
Israelites out of Egypt." "The Heavenly Candle {i.e. the
pillar of fire) burned, the new night-ward must perforce rest over
the hosts lest the horrors of the waste, the hoar heath with its
raging storms, should overwhelm them, their souls should fail."'^

The ancient spirit is no less conspicuous in the paraphrase
in those parts relating to war, etc. Abraham is described in the
genuine Teutonic vein as " the bold evil " ; Pharaoh as " the dis-
penser of treasure." When Satan is contemplating his rebellion,
he says : " Heroes stern of mood have chosen me for their chief,
renowned warriors ; with such may one take counsel, with such
folk-companions share it. They are my jealous friends, faithful in
their thoughts : I may be their leader, rule in this realm ; hence
it seems not right to me that I in aught should cringe to God for
any good. I will no longer be His youngest vassal."^

So when the paraphraser has to describe the battle between
the four against the five kings, an image of a tribal battle rises
in his mind. "There was hard play, an exchange of deadly

^ Paraphrase by Thorpe, p. 20. ^ lb. p. 25.

^ lb. p. 270. ■* lb. pp. 226 and 273. ^ lb. p. 283.

« lb. p. 310. "^ lb. pp. 184, 185. 8 /^^ p, i^_

APPENDIX III 283

weapons, a great warcry, a loud crash of battle. The warriors
from tiieir sheaths drew their ring-hilted swords of doughty
edge."^ Abraham comes to the rescue of the defeated party.
" Then the holy man bade his hearth-retainers take their
weapons, warriors he found there, bearers of the ashen spear,
eighteen and three hundred beside, faithful to their lord. He
knew that each could well bear into battle the yellow linden
(i.e. the wooden shield)." ^ Mr. Courthope sums up his conten-
tion thus : " The foregoing extracts serve to show how many
characteristics of the old minstrelsy were preserved in the
Coedmonian cycle of song. . . . The most noticeable feature in
Caidmon's art is the readiness with which an exotic class of
subjects becomes naturalised in the old poetical soil."-^

I will now give two samples of the vigorous force which
marks the narrative in parts of the Old Testament paraphrase.
The first one refers to the Deluge : —

"Then the Powerful spake, our Preserver unto Noah said . . .
I will with flood the folK destroy. . . . Thou shalt have peace with
thy sons. When the swart water the dark death-streams swell with
the multitudes, with the guilty wretches. Begin thee a ship to
make, a great sea-house . . . form shelves in the ship's bosom,
. . . against the working of the waves make it seem fast. There
shall be brought food for the living of every kind, into that wood
fastness. . . ."^

" Noah zealously . . . began forthwith to build the house, the
great sea chest . . . the greatest of sea houses he strengthened
within and without with lime of earth against the flood. ^

" Noah then departed as the Preserver bade him, leading his
offspring under the wave timber, and their wives with them and
all their provisions.^

"... The Lord sent rain from heaven and also amply let
the well brooks throng on the world from every vein . . . the
seas rose over their shore walls . . . then rode it at large under
the skies, over the orb of ocean, that house most excellent
with its store. . . . Then remembered God the ' Seafaring '
{i.e. Noah) ; the Lord of triumphs, the son of Lamech . . . the
Warrior Lord of hosts then let a wind over the wide land
pass, the water ebbed . . . the rain had stilled. . . . Then he

^ Paraphrase by Thorpe, p. 120.

^ lb. p. 123. ^ See Courthope, op. cit. i. 10 1.

^ Thorpe, Caedmon's Paraphrase, pp. 78 and 79.

^ lb. p. 80. « lb. p. 82.

2 84 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

{i.e. Noah) assayed at the ship's prow whether the sea flood
were yet sinking under the skies. The son of Lamech then let
fly out a swart raven over the deep flood from the house. Noah
expected . . . that if on the way it found not land over the
water it would seek the wave house again. That hope it
deceived, for the exulting fowl perched on the floating corpses.
. . . Then after seven nights he from the ark let out a livid
dove, on discovery whether the foaming sea still deep, had given
up any part of the green earth. . . . Widely she her will sought
and flew far away, yet she found no rest for the flood, she
could not perch on land nor on the tree leaves for the steep
mountain tops were with waters covered. The wild fowl at
eve went to seek the ark over the dusky wave, weary, to sink
hungry, into the hands of the holy man. Then after a week
was gone the dove was again sent from the ark ; wildly she flew
away till that she in space exulting, a fair resting-place found,
and then with her feet stepped on a tree, blithe of mood
rejoicing because she had sate much, weary on the tree's
branches. On the lofty mast she shook her feathers, again she
went flying with her gifts and sailing brought a twig of olive
tree to hand and green leaves. Then quickly understood the
chief of mariners that comfort was become his painful journey-
ing's recompense. Again after the third week the blessed man
a wild dove sent which came not again flying to the vessel
but she gained the land, and the green groves. She under the
pitched boards would not ever afterwards appear in that storied
hold. . . .1

"... The Lord spake words to Noah. Teem now and propa-
gate. . . . Never do ye with blood your table meals impiously
take, defiled with sin, with blood of life ... I upon mid
earth the torrent host never again will lead. ... Of this ye in
the skies full oft a sensible token may behold, when I my shower-
bow display. . . . Then was the wise son of Lamech come from
the vessel with his three sons, guardians of the heritage, and
their four wives, and these were called Percoba, OUa, OUiva, and
Ollivani. . . . ^ Chose him them a dwelling, the son of Haran in
Sodom city . . . with his possessions and bracelets from Bethel
and household treasures, wealth, twisted gold. . . . ^ They four
then departed, kings of nations to seek south of thence Sodom
and Gomorrah {i.e. Chedorlaomer and the other kings).^

1 Thorpe, pp. 88 and 89. ' lb. pp. 91-93.

^ lb. p. 115. ^ lb. p. 118.

APPENDIX III 285

"Then with hostile hands was by Jordan the soil of the
people's natal land wide overspread with enemies. Many a
fearful, pale-faced damsel must trembling go into a stranger's
embrace . . . the defenders of their brides and bracelets fell sick
with wounds . . . they then marched together, the five kings of
nations, the javelins were loud, wroth the bands of slaughter, the
sad fowl sang amid the dart-shafts dewy of feathers, the rush
expecting . . . the warriors with their hands drew from their
sheaths the ring-hilted swords of edges doughty, then was early
found death-work for the man who was not with slaughter satiate
. . . the weapons' leavings went to seek a fastness. The foes
pillaged the gold. . . . The holy man {i.e. Abraham) bade his
hearth retainers their weapons take . . . bearers of the ashen
spear . . . the fallow linden . . . the lines of the foes fell thickly
where laughing they had borne the spoil. . . . The Lord of the
people went of his men bereft, to seek Abraham destitute of
friends ; with him went Salem's treasures guardian that was the
great Melchizedek, the people's bishop who came with gifts. . . }
Then went the prince of Salem to Abraham and said to him, Give
me the damsels of my people, have to thee the twisted gold that
erst belonged to our folk. . . . There is no worldly pelf that I will
for myself possess nor shilling. . . . De|)art now homeward with
the fretted gold and beloved damsels, women of the nations . . .
the teeming fowls among the mountain heights sit bloody with
the slaughter of those bands thickly filled. . . . " ^

In describing a battle between the Israelites led by Moses
and the Egyptians, our poet says : —

" Around them screamed the fowls of war, greedy of battle,
dewy feathered ; over the bodies of the host the wolves sang
their horrid evensong, in hopes of food the reckless beasts
threatened death to the valiant, on the foes' track flew the army-
fowl. The march-wards cried at midnight, the spirit of death
flew, the people were hemmed in. At length the proud thanes
of that host met amid the paths in bendings of the boundaries ;
to them there the banner king marched with the standard, the
prince of men rode the marches with his band, the warlike
guardian of the people clasped his grim helm, the king his
visor. The banners glittered in hopes of battle, slaughter shook
the proud. He bade his warlike band bear them boldly . . . the
hoar army wolves the battle hailed, thirsty for the brunt of war
. . . the renowned oft awaited the horn in the phalanx, to the
^ Thorpe, pp. 121-126. ^ lb. pp. 126-130.

2 86 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

leaders of which the warlike host of people ready marched. . . .
In the number of the people were fifty bands, each band had
of the famed host arm-bearing, warfaring ten hundred numbered
illustrious warriors. That was a warlike host. The weak were
not admitted into that martial number, the leaders of the army,
those that for youth, might not yet under their bucklers the
breast-net {i.e. shirt of mail) of men against the arrows of the
enemies with their Hmbs defend, nor baleful wounds had injured ;
sore body-wounds over the linden shields — the darts exulting
play. The aged, the hoary chieftains might not engage in battle,
yet in the bands their mind and might had sway, for they
according to their strength each chose each warrior how to the
nation he would show valour with glory also by dint of might.
. . . Leaped then before the warriors the man of war, the bold
commander, with his shield upraised who bade the folk leaders stay
the march while many should hear the bold chiefs address. . . .
Then before the multitudes he raised a loud voice, before the
people of the living when he to the nations spake : ' Lo ye now
with your eyes behold, most beloved of people, a stupendous
wonder ; how I myself have struck with this right hand, a
green sign the ocean's deep, the wave ascends ; rapidly worketh
the water a wall fastness ; the ways are dry, rugged army roads ;
the sea hath left its old stations, where before I have never heard
of men journeying over mid earth, there are now variegated fields
which from this time through eternity the waves have covered, the
salt sea depths hath the south wind dried up, the sea wave's blast.
Ocean is swept away, the sea's ebb hath drawn the sand. I
know in sooth full well that to you the mighty God will have
shewn mercy^, O chiefs, ere sunset. Quickest is best so that ye from
the enemies' may grasp escape. Now the Lord hath upreared the
red streams as a protecting shield, the fore-walls are fairly raised
(wondrous roads) to the cloud's roof.' After those words, the host
all rose, the power of the bold : the sea stood still. Martial
hands raised the white lindens, the banners on the sands ; the
sea wall rose, stood erect towards the Israelites on one day's
space. The host of men was of one mind. . . . Then the
fourth tribe went foremost, waded into the wave stream the
warriors in a body, over green ground. The tribe of Judah
hastened singly an unknown way before their kinsmen, so on them
the mighty God for that day's work a high reward the stern
worker of victories bestowed, since that to them he granted that
it the eldership should possess over the kingdoms, the flower of

APPENDIX III 287

their kin. They had over their bucklers for their banner when
into the sea they marched a signal reared in the armed band,
a golden lion, greatest of tribes, keenest of beasts. . . . After
that band the sea-men proudly moved, the sons of Reuben,
bare their shields, sea vikings {s(B vikingar) over the salt marsh.
. . . The power went forth ... on their way forth, folk by
folk, tribe by tribe. Each one knew his right of kin as Moses
bade them, the chief nobility. To them was one father a
beloved patriarch." ^

The destruction of the Egyptian host in the Red Sea is told
with wonderful picturesqueness and force. '' The folk was
affrighted, the dread flood seized on their sad souls ; the ocean
wailed with death, the mountain heights were with blood be-
steamed, the sea foamed gore, there was crying in the waves
and the water was full of weapons. A death mist rose ; the
Egyptians were turned back, they fled trembling, they felt fear,
would that host ever gladly find their homes ? Their vaunt grew
sadder, for the rolling of the waves rose against them like a cloud.
Then came none of that host to home, but from behind they
were enclosed by the fateful wave. Where paths once passed, the
sea now raged . . . the storm rose high to heaven, the loudest
army-cry uttered the host, the air above was thickened with
dying voices, blood infused the flood ; the shield walls were riven,
the firmament shook, the proud dead kings died in a body in that
greatest of sea deaths. Over the soldiers' bucklers shone as the
proud ocean stream their might fast fettered. . . . The tides neap
obstructed by the war enginery laid bare the land to the pallid
host, when the ever cold sea with the salt waves rushed on. . . .
The blue air was with corruption tainted, the bursting ocean
whooped a bloody storm the sea-men's way ... it swepf death in
its embrace, the flood foamed, the fated died, water deluged the
land . . . the guardian of the flood struck the unsheltering
wave with an ancient faulchion, and in the swoon of death
those armies slept . . . there was drowned the flower of Egypt,
Pharaoh with his folk. ... Of that multitude, came not home
again of all the boundless host any as remnant, to proclaim
their fate, and to publish to the consorts of the warriors the
greatest of baneful tales, there princes fell, and those mighty
bands the sea-death swallowed."^'

In describing the march of Moses and his host on Etham,
after destroying the Egyptian host, the poet recalls the scene
^ Thorpe, pp. 192-199. ^ lb. pp. 206-210.

2 88 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

in picturesque condensed phrases. " On their south was the
Ethiop's land, scorched mountain-tops, with a people burned
with the hot coals of heaven. Then the holy God shielded the
people against the heat intense, with a canopy he overspread the
burning heaven, with a holy net the torrid air. The cloud in its
wide curtain divided the earth and firmament. It led the
nation host, and quenched was the flame-fire of the heaven's
bright heat. The people were amazed, and most joyous with
the shade of their day-shield of rolling clouds. The Wise God
shrouded the sun's course with a sail. Through the short ropes
their sight could not penetrate nor could they see the sail-cross and
how all the enginery was fastened in that greatest of field houses." ^
Let us now turn to the second part of the Bodleian book,
where the vivid suggestion of the pictures, the rapidity of the
thought, and the simplicity, directness, and passion of the narrative
are specially extolled by a good critic, namely, Mr. Stopford
Brooke. As he says, the characters live, and notably the chief
hero himself, Satan, while his dwelling-place hell is painted with fine
imaginative colours from a master's hand, however crude in form.
" The description of the latter seems," says the author just quoted,
" to belong to a time when the Northern idea of the realm of the
dark death-goddess Hel had begun to be influenced by the
Christian hell." If that conception mingled at all with the hell
now before us, we might be able to suggest a conjectural date
for this poem. The Northern Helle is not a place of punishment
fiUed with fire, nor is it dwelt in by the evil only. All go down
to it save the heroes who die in battle — even Brynhild and
Balder. It lies low down to the North, in a pale, mist-world
(Nifleheimer), covered with night, very cold, swept with winds ;
with gat^, a great hall where the goddess dwells, a fountain in
the midst where dragons and serpents lie, and twelve roaring
rivers, gloomy and joyless. Muspell is the fire-world in the
South, and no human beings ever pass into it. Various
fragments of this conception appear in the hell of this poem.
Fire-breathing dragons are at its gates, and serpents swarm in it.
There is a hall in it, in which Satan wanders like Hel. It is
cold and dark, and over it broods abysmal cloud. Those who
wander in it are black-visaged. These are the heathen fragments.
The Christian hell — in " which the name of the goddess was
changed into the name of a place — is made a realm of fire, like
Muspell, but unlike Muspell is filled with human souls as well as
^ Thorpe, Caidmon's Paraphrase, pp. 182, 183.

APPENDIX III 289

demons. This place is vigorously described in the poems. It
is sunk deep in the lowest abyss, " underneath high nesses "
{i.e. promontories, a new image in the description of hell). This
is twice repeated, and links the conception of the place to the
mediaeval notion of the last pit of hell. Below these, as if on their
strand, the fiends sometimes assemble and mourn. The cliffs
stand round a '* deep-tossing and weltering sea of fire, greedy and
ravenous — a loathsome lair." This heaving and leaping sea is hell's
floor — "an ocean mingled with venom and with venom kindled."
Serpents move in it and twine round naked men ; adders and
dragons dwell in it (in " Judith " hell is called "a hall of serpents ") ;
its wind-swept hall is filled with anguish. The devils wander to
and fro in it, howling in woe ; and twelve miles beyond the gates
of this narrow realm of hate the gnashing of their teeth is heard
in the abyss of space. The gates are huge, dragons sit at them,
and they are fast, shut up and immovable save when Christ
comes upon them, when they are battered down to the noise of
thunder at dawn. When Satan speaks, fire and poison fly from
his lips with his words, and flicker through hell ; and he is as
restless in hell as he is said in the Book of Job to be on earth.
The very distance from Palestine is given. Hell is 100,000
miles below the Mount of the Temptation. This is as definite
as Dante. Much of this is freshly imagined, and its possible
nearness to heathen thought gives it a greater interest than the
later mediaeval conceptions possess.^

The first poem, "The Fall of the Angels," begins with the praise
of God as Creator, and with a sketch of the fall of Satan into
hell. Then the " Old One " wails for his loss of heaven, and for
the fiery ruin in which he lives. He is far more convinced of
his sin than the audacious devil of "Genesis." "I may never
hope," he cries, " to have again the better home I lost through
pride." A new motive is now introduced. In the " Genesis " all
his companions love him and are on his side. Here they
reproach and scorn him. " With lying words thou hast deceived
us ; God thou wast ; thyself wast the Creator — so thou saidst ;
a wretched robber art thou now, fast bound in bands of fire."
Another curious phrase is the following, where we meet with the
son of the devil, as if in heaven he had imitated God and sent
his son forth as master : " Full surely thou saidst that thy son
was the creator of man ; all the greater are now thy pains."
Again Satan takes up his complaint, and repeats in different

1 Stopford Brooke, History of Early English Literature, ii. 129-131.
VOL. III. — 19

290 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

phrases the same motive — regret for heaven, hopelessness of
return, the present horrors of hell. A third time he takes up the
same cry ; and then a fourth time, the words flying from him in
sparks likest to poison, and he bursts out into a passionate agony
of vain repentance —

164, O thou helm of banded hosts ! O high glory of the Lord !
O thou might of the great Maker ! O thou Middle-Earth !
O thou dazzling daylight ! O delight of God !
O ye angel hosts ! O thou upper Heaven !
O that I am all-bereft of the Everlasting Joy !
That I may not with my hands reach unto the Heaven,
Never with these eyes of mine upwards look again ;
Never with mine ears ever hear again
Sounding clear the clang of the clarions of God.

"Woe and torment, exile must I bear, wander a wide
wandering in wretchedness and care, for I strove to drive from
his throne the Lord of Hosts." This is the first song in the
poem, and it ends with an outburst on the poet's part of warning
to men, and of a prophecy of the joy of heaven. ^

The second complete poem of this part of the Junian
Caedmon is on the " Harrowing of Hell," and begins at line 366.
It commences with a sketch of the fall of Lucifer into hell, and
then breaks abruptly into the subject. "Anguish came on hell,
thunder-crash before the Judge, as He bowed and shattered the
gate of hell, but joy was in the heart of men " (that is, of the good
spirits in prison) " when they saw the Saviour. But full of horror
were the fiends, wailing far and wide through the windy hall."
"Terrible is this, since the storm has come to us, the Hero with
His following, the Lord of Angels. Before Him shines a lovelier
light than we have ever seen, since we were on high among the
angels. So will now our pains be deeper." Then, — for now the
poet repeats his motive in order to introduce the speech of Eve, —
then came the Angel-cry, loud thunder at the break of day.
The Lord had overcome His foes — war-feud was open on that
morning, when He came to lead forth the chosen souls of Adam's
race. Yet Eve could not look upon the glow of joy till she had
spoken, and her speech occupies nearly forty lines. It may
mark the early origin of the poem, that the important place
among the souls in Hades is given to a woman. She tells the
story well ; she makes picture after picture of hell before the
Saviour's coming. He listens courteously to the end. She
^ Stopford Brooke, ii. 131-133.

AITENDIX III 291

begins with the story of their fall, speaking for Adam and herself.
"Our guilt was bitterly recompensed; thousands of winters
have we wandered in this hot hell, dreadfully burning. But
now, I beseech thee, Prince of Heaven, that I with all my kins-
folk may go up from hence. Three nights ago came a servant
of the Saviour " (this was Judas), " home to hell. Fast is he now in
prison, yet he told us that God Himself would enlighten this
house of hell, our dwelling." From this happy invention of
Judas, his message and his fate, she turns to describe how the
news was received by all the Old Testament saints waiting in
hell—

432. Then up-lifted each himself; on his arm he set himself,
On his hands he leant. Though the hellish Horror
Full of awfulness appeared, yet was every one
Midst his pains delighted, since the Prince of Men
Willed their home to visit and to bring help to them.

Then she reached out her hands and besought the King of
Heaven through the office of Mary. "Thou wert in truth, O
my beloved Lord, born into the world of my daughter, now it is
plain that thou art God."

She ended, and Christ, driving the fiends deeper into hell,
took upwards with Him all the host of the redeemed. " It was
fair indeed, when they came to their fatherland, and with them
the Eternal to His glorious ' burg.' Holy prophets put forth their
hands, and lifted them into home," and they sat down to feast.
Then, as in an assembly of English nobles, Christ rose and made
His speech to them — and the phrase with which He begins recalls
the Witan : " Wise spirits," He starts, and in His turn he gives
another account of the fall and of its punishment ; " O 'twas
woe to me," He cries, "that the work of My hands should endure
the chain of the prison-house. Then I came on earth and died.
Well it was for you that the warriors pierced Me with spears
upon the gallows tree." So spake the Ward of Glory on the
morning of the Resurrection ! The poem then turns to describe
the Resurrection, the Ascension, Pentecost, and the Last Judg-
ment, and each fragment closes withaseparate outbreak of religious
warning and joy. As in the previous part, this similar ending
suggests that these were isolated songs, collected here and
placed together by a later editor. There is nothing in them of
any special worth.^

At line 665, another fragment of a separate poem, inserted
^ Stopford Brooke, ii. 133-135.

292 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

out of its historical place, relates a part of the story of the
Temptation. It is only remarkable for the mocking speech of
Christ when He repels the tempter on the mountain, such a
speech as an English warrior might have made to his foe : " Go,
accursed, to the den of punishment, but I bid thee take no jot
of hope to the burghers of hell ; but promise them the deepest
of all sorrows ; go down, and know how far and wide away is
dreary hell. Measure it with thine hands, and grip against its
bottom. Go, till thou knowest all the round of it ; from above
to the abyss, measure how broad is the black mist of it. Then
wilt thou understand that thou fightest against God. Go with
speed, and before two hours are passed, thou shalt have measured
thine allotted house ! "

So he fell down to dreadful pains — down towards hell, and
first he measured with his hands the torment and the woe, and
then (as he descended) the lurid flame smote upwards against
him, and then he saw the captives lie below him in hell, and
then the howl of the demons reached his ear when they saw
the unholy one return, and then he on the bottom stood. And
when he was there, it seemed to him that to hell's door from the
place where he had been was roo,ooo miles by measure. And
he looked round on the ghastly place, and there rose a shriek
from all the lost, and they cried aloud to the Lord of their
kingdom —

There ! be ever thou in evil ! Erst thou wouldst not be good.^

As a specimen of the " Judith " poem I extract a passage
in reference to her dealings with Holofernes. The tenth
book begins with a vigorous description of a great drinking
feast given by him, which lasts the whole day till all the
captains were furiously drunk. As to Holofernes, himself,
he seems to be drawn direct from some English chief well
known for drinking prowess. " He laughed and shouted and
raged so that all his folk heard far away how the stark-
minded stormed and yelled, full of fierce mirth and mad with
mead." He bids Judith be led to his tent. A golden fly-
net hangs between his bed and the drinking chamber, so that
he could see the guests, but they might not look on him.
Drunk, he fell on his bed, and Judith stepped forth with plaited
tresses. And she held a sharp sword, hardened by the storms
{scuruiii) of battle, *' drew it from the sheath, and called on the
^ Stopford Brooke, ii. 135, 136.

APPENDIX III 293

Ward of Heaven, God the Creator, spirit of consolation." The
prayer is nobly wrought, brief and forceful, full of passion —
passion for her country and her God, passion of the woman
brought so near to shame. " Let me hew down," it ends, "this
lord of murder ! Venge thou, O God, that which is so angry in
me, the burning in my heart." The slaughter is then carefully
described. Her cleverness as she seizes the heathen by the hair
and tits him for the blow ; her strength as she drives the glittering
sword half through his throat, and then again smites the heathen
dog, half-dead, till his head rolled out upon the floor, are as
vigorously hewn into the verse as the sword into Holofernes.
" There lay the foul carcase, but the spirit turned to go to the
deep abyss, and was battened down, with pangs, with worms
enwound in that snake-hall."

Book xi. then takes Judith and her " pale-cheeked maid,"
with the head in their bag, out of the sleeping camp, till they see
the " shining walls of fair Bethulia. There sat on the ramparts
the burghers, watching, and Judith called on them and the folk
ran to the gate, men with women, crowding together, stormed
and raced, old and young in thousands, to meet the divine maid."
She bids her girl unwrap the bloody head, and Joan of Arc
could not have made a more impassioned, a more warlike
speech —

177. Clearly may ye now, conquering heroes strong ;

ye leaders of the people gaze upon the head

of this heathen lord of fight, of this loathliest (of men)
Holofernes, now unliving,

who of all men made most of murderous woes for us !
185. By the help of God

1 have wrenched his life away. Now will I bid each of you,
each burg-dweller, to the battle.

189. Fit ye for the fighting ! When the God of first beginnings,
merciful and monarch,^ eastward arises

bright with the blaze of day, then bear your lindens forward.
Shield-board sheltering your breast, byrnies for your raiment,
helmets all a-shining, midst that horde of scathers ;
felling the folk-leaders with the flashing swords.
Chieftains cursed for death ! (Courage !), all your foes
to the death are doomed ! Ye shall have dominion,
and gain a glory in the battle ; for the greatest Lord
hath a handsel given through mine hand to you.

^ Arfeast cyning, *' glorious king," but "Ar" has also the sense of
compassion.

294 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

** Then the host of swift ones speedily made ready ; all the
warriors bold as kings, all the comrades, bore their victory-
banners and fared into the fight ; forward in right line they moved ;
all the heroes under helm from the holy burg at the breaking
of the day. Din there was of shields, loud they rang ; and the
gaunt wolf of the weald rejoiced, and the black raven greedy of
slaughter. Well they knew both of them that the heroes thought
to count out death to the doomed ; ^ and upon their track flew
the erne, hungry for his fodder ; all his feathers dewy ; dusky was
his sallow coat ; horny-nebbed, he sang his battle-song. Swiftly
stepped the chiefs of battle to the field of carnage, with the
hollow lindens sheltered. . . . Then they let, with valiancy,
showers of their arrows, adders of the battle, fly from their bows
of horn, hard-headed bolts. Loudly stormed the warriors fierce,
and their spears they sent, right into the host of hard ones. . . .
So the Hebrews showed their foes what the sword-swing
was."

By this time the Assyrian host was awake, and Book xii.
relates how messengers came from the outskirts of the host
to the chief thegns, and how they roused the standard-bearing
warrior ; and how they took counsel whether they dared to wake
Holofernes. Too much at this crisis is made of this poor
motive. They gather round their lord's tent. No noise awakens
him. At last, one bolder than the rest breaks in, and lo ! pale
lay his gold-giver on the bed, robbed of life. " Here lies," he
cries, " headless, hewn down by sword, our Upholder." All their
weapons fall ; they fly ; behind them throngs a mighty folk ; the
Hebrew heroes "hew a path with swords through the press,
thirsty for the onset of the spear." So fell in dust the nobles of
Assyria, " left to the will of the wolves, fodder for the fowls of
slaughter." Then is told the gathering of the spoil. " Proud,
with plaited locks, the Hebrews brought precious treasures to
Bethulia's shining burg — helms and hip-seaxes {i.e. short swords),
bright grey byrnies, and panoplies of warriors inlaid with gold.
And to Judith, wise and fair of face, they gave the sword and
bloody helm and eke the huge byrnie of Holofernes all with
red gold embossed, and his armlets and bright gems. For all
this she said praise be to the Lord of every folk." Then the
poem makes a fair ending, tender and gracious, and touched
with that love of nature which we so often find among the
English —

* Or, perhaps, **to furnish for them their fill on the doomed."

APPENDIX III 29s

347. To the Lord beloved, for this

Glory be for widening ages ! Wind and light He shaped of old,
Sky above and spacious earth, every one of the wild streams,
And the aether's jubilation — through His own delightfulness.^

We will lastly turn to the finest of all Caedmon's poems,
which is preserved for us on the Ruthwell cross and in the Vercelli
Codex. I will collect a selection of passages from the translation
of Professor Stephens, which echoes very fairly the language of
the original, and which I shall in the main follow.

• •••••

Methought me that I saw

sudden in mid-air

mantling with light rays,

a Marvellous Tree,

With beams the brightest,

the pillared beacon

glittered with gold.

Its four corners

were graced with fairest gems,

while five as bright

were over the span of the shoulder.

All the Seraphs beheld it wistful,

Angel-hosts of endless beauty.

'Twas no wicked outcast's gallows,

but holy Spirits

hied and hasted to greet it,

with men of our mid earth

And each mystic orb-king.

I sin-cankered

eyed that Wuldor stem

shining and shimmering

shrouded with hangings and gold

flashing with bright jewels

in lustrous lines

o'er its lordly timber.

Yet saw I plainly

through its golden surface

how the grim ones had gashed it.

It began to trickle ;

red drops from its right side starting.

Rueful anguish then o'erpowered me

I feared sorely at that fairest vision.

As I gazed, the shivering beacon

all changing, weltered heart-gore sadly,

and oozing sweat the rich stem crimsoned.

^ Stopford Brooke, op. cit. ii. 137-143.

296 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

So I lay long
looking and sighing,
beholding with sorrow
the Healer's tree ;
till at last its outcry
leapt forth loudly
and that wood most blissful
uttered words.

It was of yore,

even yet I mind it,

when I was hewen down

at the wood's outskirt.

By axes torn from the bole

burly foemen took me straightway.

Then gangs of thralls lifting me

they bore me on their bending shoulders

up to a beetling upland

where the fierce ones fixed me upright.

There the "Frea" of mankind I saw

mightily eager

to mount me trembling.

But I durst not, against

the Drecten's word

bow me or break,

though earth's bosom was quaking.

I could have felled them all

but I firmly stood.

The youthful hero,

(lo the man was God Almighty) ;

strong of heart and steady minded

he stept on the lofty gallows

fearless and spite that crowd of faces.

To save the tribes of men he would be there.

I trembled and bevered when that "baron" clasped me

but I dared not look me earthward.

*Twas my duty to stand fast.
*' Rood " was I thus reared,
bearing the Rich King,
the Lord of Light-realms ;
and I durst not stoop.
Dark-hued nails they drove thro' me
whose deep scars men can see here,
^ open chasms made by hammers.

Yet to kill or hurt them I shuddered.
They mocked and handled us both,
and all with blood was I bedabbled
gushing grievous from his dear side,
when his ghost he up-rendered.

APPENDIX III 297

For days on that hill

was I sorely troubled.

For days I saw hanging

the God of hosts.

Clouds gloomy and swarthy

covered the corpse of "the Waldend,"

o'er the sheer shine-path

heavy shadows fell

darkly 'neath the welkin.

All creation wept

and wailed the loss of their king !

Christ was on the Rood-tree.

But fast and from afar,

his friends hasted

to help their atheling.

I saw everything.

Sorely was I

with sorrows harrowed,

yet humbly I inclined

towards the hands of his servants,

striving with might to aid them.

Straight they took the all-ruling God

rescuing him from that dire torment.

Those '* Hilde-rinks" now left me

streaming with blood drops ;

with streals was I all wounded.

They laid him down limb-weary.

O'er his lifeless head they stood,

Gazing eagerly at Heaven's chieftain.

The holy body after the death fight

rested awhile, "moil-worn."

Then a mould house {i.e. a grave) they dug.

Out of bright stone blocks they carved it.

And there put "the Sovran Victor,"

and sadly sang their grave lays,

through that eventide ;

sadly did they carry

their Lord their Loving Captain.

Lonesome was his narrow chamber.

We {i.e. the crosses) awhile

stood on that steep.

And then a band of battle men

rose up.

His body was now cold,

and his fair soul-house was sallow.

And soon they cut us down to earth,

awful was that fall.

They then delved a pit, and deeply hid us in it ;

but the friendly Drecten's thanes

298 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

found where they had flung us.
Forth they drew me
and gleefully bedecked me
with gold and silver.
Thus hear thou
dearest heart-friend
how I have mournfully borne
sorest sorrows
from these miscreants.
The time is now come
when far and wide
men o'er this mould
worthily honour me.
And all the world of things
bends in prayer to this "beacon."
Once God's bright one
Z) suffered on my substance.

Hence why I now rise up
so stately under heaven.
And can heal all
who are "awed" before me.
Once was I, (and it was
my heaviest penalty)
in each land most loathsome.
Ere the way of Life
I made wide and open
to wise and foolish ;
but the Wuldor Elder,
Heaven's guardian
honoured me
more than any hill tree
like as his Mother
Mary herself
whom Almighty God
has magnified
before each one
over every woman !
and now, I bid thee
dearest heart friend
• •.•••

tire not to tell of the Tree of glory
on which the Prince of Peace
suffered his passion
for the many sins
>^ of Man's children.

For the olden misdeeds

of Father Adatn.

Death he there tasted

but the Drecten thane breaking

with his mickle might

for the help of man,

APPENDIX III 299

To heaven he ascended.

To this our "mid-earth"

he will come again

to visit men

on the Day of Doom.

He the dread one,

God Almighty,

and his angels with him.

He who hath power of judgment

will so judge them,

as each and every one,

in this miserable life

their deeds they merited.

Pale need no one be

nor panic-stricken,

at the words which then

the Waldend will speak.

• •••••

Be there any creature
who for God's name's sake
will give Himself up
to torment and death,
as on the Tree He did.

No one need be

pale and panic-stricken,

who shall bear on his breast

this most blessed beacon.

Thro' the cross each Christian

may reach the Kingdom

and his soul soar from earth skyward,

if it willeth rightly

to abide with the Waldend.

• •«••■

Then hied I to the beacon

in blithest mood.

And with all my heart

where I lay alone

in my humble homestead.

Holy musings

filled me with flame thoughts.

Now the hope of my life
is ever to turn to
that tree of Triumph.

And to cling to the Crucified.
From me are now rent
My friends, the mightiest.

300 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

They have sought the Wuldor King

and found a harbour in heaven

from our world's pleasaunce,

with the High Father

in glee and glory.

I went each day longingly,

till the Lord's Cross-tree

on our earth's platform,

which I once gazed at

from the lands of this Care-world

should call and fetch me

should take me yonder

to the City Celestial

where bliss overfloweth.

There the Saviour's disciples

sit at his supper,

and there is song for ever.

And there he shall place me

in that palace wonderful

where the King shall crown me

with grace and glory

among God's hallowed ones.

Christ will be my friend,

who on earth erewhile

underwent torture

and suffered on the gibbet

for the sins of men.

He uplifted us ;

life he gave us

and heavenly habitations.

Bliss and bloom cheered the sad one

when his banner reached Hell.

Splendid was his on-march,

mighty and magnificent

when he came with multitudes

of ghostly legions

to God's high kingdom.

When he the matchless monarch'

gave mirth to his angels,

and to the saints his saved ones,

who were seated in heaven

and dwelling in brightness.

When the Weldend,

God Almighty

came to his old home-halls.^

^ Stephens, Runic MonumentSy i. 423-429.

APPENDIX III 301

Several words in the poem are here given in their old form,
and need a gloss. Thus : —

Dryhte7i or Drecten^ Lord, Prince, is also applied to Christ
and the Father. It is the Scandinavian Drotte?t, and comes
from the verb to dree, to hold out, to act valiantly and enduringly.^

Wuldor^ from the same root as Waldend, wield of power,
might, majesty, glory, also paradise.

Athelin^:^^ from athel^ noble = nobling, noble youth, prince,
especially applied here to the heir-apparent or a prince of the
blood ; hence to Christ.

Bever, to quake or tremble.

Frea, the Frey of the Scandinavians, the god of Peace and
Bliss, once worshipped on Friday, afterwards used as an epithet
of honour for a prince or chieftain, and also for Christ and the
Father.

Hilde-rink^ hero of Hilde (Bellona).

Battle-brave^ captain, soldier, man.^

^ Stephens, Runic Monuments^ i. 429, note. ^ lb. 429 and 430, notes.

APPENDIX IV

THE MEMORIAL CROSSES OF THE SEVENTH
CENTURY IN NORTHERN ENGLAND

Among the early monuments of our country few can rival in
beauty, in artistic interest, and in historical importance the finer
stone crosses erected in Northern England in early days. They
have recently aroused a good deal of attention, and have given rise
to some theories which in my view are so fantastic and so contrary
to all sound induction and archaeological good sense that I deem
it necessary to devote some pages to their discussion. This
fantastic writing has extended to their date, their ornamentation,
and the meaning and interpretation of their inscriptions where
such exist. It is not perhaps singular that the writers who have
published the most impossible theories about them have not
been Englishmen who have made a long study of our archaeology,
and have in consequence learnt how to treat our archaeological
facts in rational perspective, but foreigners, who have had a very
casual knowledge either of our history or our antiquities.
America, Germany, and Italy have all furnished critics of the
subject, whose conclusions are largely based on subjective
methods which seem to ignore the most elementary facts under-
lying the issue. Let us now see what these facts are.

In the first place, these crosses are all clearly Christian. The
fact that the cross is occasionally found as an ornament in early
pagan structures is true, but that fact has no connection with
our issue. Stone crosses, used as memorials or set up as
symbolic emblems in early times in various places in Britain, are
unmistakable signs of Christian culture and are so accepted by
everybody.

Secondly, such early Christian crosses as specially concern
us here are limited to certain geographical areas. In regard to
England they are only found in the North and in the West, and
are virtually absent, or very scarce, from Wessex, Mercia south of
the Mersey and the Trent, and East Anglia. The district, how-
ever, where they abound is almost entirely that situated within

302

APPENDIX IV 303

the boundaries of the kingdoms of Northumbria and Northern
Mercia.

Northumbria was divided into two sections by the river Tees,
each of which was for a while, as we have seen, an independent
kingdom, and later a sharply contrasted province. The northern
one was called Bernicia, and the southern one Deira ; the former
answering to the modern counties of Northumberland, Durham,
Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Lancashire north of the Lune,
and the latter to the county of York.

In describing the great wooden cross set up by King Oswald
at Heavenfield, near Hexham, where he defeated and killed the
British King Caedwalla in the year 635, Bede says : " As we have
understood, there was no sign of the Christian faith, no church,
no altar erected throughout all the nation of the Bernicians,
before that new commander of the army, prompted by the
devotion of his faith, set up the banner of the cross as he was
going to give battle to his barbarous enemy." ^

The year 635, therefore, is a notable date as a termi?ius a quo
in fixing the chronology of the crosses of Bernicia. In regard to
Deira, or Yorkshire, the possibilities are somewhat different, since
that area was the scene of the labours of a Christian mission
in the earlier reign of King vEdwin, under Paulinus and his
protege James the Deacon. In a work on St. Augustine the
Missionary, which I recently published, I followed the current
view that one or two of the Yorkshire crosses and those at
Whalley in Lancashire may have been contemporary memorials
of the mission of Paulinus. I now think this is unlikely, and
that they were probably set up some years afterwards as
memorials of the proto-evangelist of Northumbria. No such
memorials mark anywhere the mission of Augustine in the
South, and as Paulinus was a Roman by origin and belonged to
that mission, it is unlikely that he would have adopted the
practice in the North, nor do any of these stone crosses recall
the ornament and style derived from Rome or known in Italy or
Gaul at that time. I now believe that all these stone crosses are
of a later date.

The first memorial crosses existing in the North about whose
date there can be no doubt are those which were found at
Hartlepool and elsewhere, which are ear-marked as to date and
significance by their inscriptions as well as by their style. I
have already described them and discussed their inscriptions,
^ Bede, Ecci. Hist.^ iii. ch. 2.

304 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

which show that they belong to the second half of the seventh
century. They are unmistakably of Irish origin and due to
the mission of St. Aidan. I have given figures of some
of them, and also a representation of specimens of some from
Ireland in the plates. A cross of similar style is preserved
on a slab at Jarrow, and was doubtless the foundation-stone
of the church. A fragment of a cross also of the same type
was found by Dr. Greenwell at Bellingham, near Durham, and
is now in the British Museum. It is inscribed "Orate pro F."
My friend, Professor Lethaby, says of this inscription : " It is
written in beautiful minuscules that must have been written by
a learned scribe. ... A fragment of a cross from Dewsbury in
the same museum is also inscribed in good minuscules, and it
cannot be far removed in age from the other. Its date must be
about 700."

It is not these small funereal crosses, however, that are oc-
cupying us now, and we will turn to the real purpose of this
essay, namely, the discussion of some of the magnificent series
of crosses and cross fragments which have been found in
Northumbria, of which the most notable are those at Bewcastle
and Ruthwell, which are such splendid examples and which really
mark a great epoch in the history of the ornamental art of this
realm. Such crosses seem to have been put up partly to mark
sacred spots where baptisms and other services were afterwards
held by the itinerant missionaries, or as memorials, etc. In the
life of St. Willibald, who was born about the year 700, we read
that when he was about three years old his parents made a
dedication of him before the great cross of our Lord and Saviour.
" For it is the custom of the Saxon race that on many of the
estates of nobles and of good men, they are wont to have, not a
church, but the standard of the Holy Cross, dedicated to our
Lord and reverenced with great honour, lifted up on high." Let
us now turn to the date of these crosses.

Before dealing with the question directly, I should like to say
a few words about the theories which have been enunciated by
some foreign archseologists, and notably by an American writer,
Professor Cook, and by others who seem to me to be entirely
unconscious of the immense mass of work that has been done
by English archaeologists, who have worked for several decades
on strictly inductive lines to illuminate and trace the origin and
progress of English art. These foreign critics have, so far as can
be judged, only an elementary knowledge of our monuments.

APPENDIX IV 305

It is forgotten by some archceologists that that science is
only a branch of history, and that a preliminary study of the
history of a country is absolutely necessary if we are to explain,
and especially to date, its monuments. First, then, I would
explain the very elementary fact that English history is divided
sharply into two great provinces by the Norman Conquest.
That conquest displaced the nobles and gentry of this realm
(that is, the educated classes) almost en bloc. Its effect on the
personnel of the Church was almost as great as it was in regard
to the civil grandees. French-speaking and thinking priests filled
most of the dioceses and rapidly monopolised the canonries and
other dignified posts. Some of the monasteries retained for a
while their English complexion, nor did the speech of the
country begin to change for a time, otherwise the life of
the educated people and the priesthood changed almost entirely.
Architecture and the other arts received a new impetus and
developed greatly.

By the middle of the twelfth century the change had become
very marked in all these matters, and, as is well known, the old
language had then become so obsolete that Latin translations of
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle became necessary, works composed
in Anglo-Saxon entirely ceased to be written, while the ver-
nacular speech became almost entirely disused in the scrip-
toria of the monks. Meanwhile England became covered with
fair minsters and parish churches, of which large numbers
remain, which have been minutely studied and their architectural
and sculptural details classified and described. It is doubtful,
indeed, whether there is anything new to learn of any moment
in regard to the arts of the twelfth century in England.

Now it is to the twelfth century that the Commendatore
Rivoira ^ and Professor Cook ^ attribute such splendid and
unique monuments of art as the great Northern memorial
crosses. I have no hesitation in saying (and I am sure I shall
be supported by every English writer having any claim to
authority on the question of the history of English art, especially
ecclesiastical art) that there is no single feature about these crosses
or their ornamentation which in the least resembles English artistic
work of the twelfth century or can be found in any work attested

^ Lombardic Architecture (1910), vol. ii. p. 143 ; and Burlington
Magazine y April 191 2.

^ "The Date of the Ruthwell and Bewcastle Crosses," Trans. Conn. Acad,
of Arts and Sciences, Dec. 1 91 2.
VOL. III. — 20

306 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

by documentary evidence to belong to the twelfth century in any
part of these realms. Nor, may I say very emphatically, can
anything like it be found in remains of that date in any part of
continental Europe. I had written this when I met with the
following sentence in which my friend. Sir Moncure Conway, has
expressed with his usual facile pen the general conclusion which
most, if not all, archaeologists in this country have reached
on the issue before us. He says: "Take a photograph of
either the Ruthwell or the Bewcastle cross, which Professor
Cook would assign to the twelfth century, and place beside
it a photograph of any undoubted work of twelfth-century
decorative sculpture, they will at once be seen to be expressive
of different worlds. The ideal behind the one is not the ideal
behind the other."

Let us now turn from the character of the art on these
monuments to another, perhaps an even more effective, argument.
The principal crosses we are dealing with are inscribed ; they not
only have the names of well-known kings and saints upon them,
but also have whole sentences, and in one case a large section
of a fine poem. First, in regard to the names. It must be
remembered that to the early Norman conquerors the history
of their predecessors and their literature in the vernacular was
not only inaccessible but hateful. The Anglo-Saxon kings and
saints were no heroes to them. They did not know their names
except in two or three conspicuous cases, and they cared nothing
about their deeds. So far did this extend that in the case of a
majority of the churches the dedications were changed from those
of Saxon saints to other saints especially favoured by the Normans,
and so far as we can see, the change effected by the Conquest
of 1066 was as far-reaching and complete in England as the
French Revolution was when it replaced the ancient regime.

How is it, then, that on these crosses not a single Norman
name occurs, either of prince or priest or saint, not one ? They
are all Anglian names.

Not only so, but the great bulk of them are names of more
or less obscure persons who had entirely passed out of living
memory and whose very existence has only been rediscovered
in modern times. How could it enter the imagination of any
man, however fantastic, to" suppose that in the twelfth century
wealthy Norman chiefs or churchmen (only men of wealth could
have paid for such monuments) were urged by an afflatus for
commemorating in this magnificent fashion a whole bevy of

APPENDIX IV 307

people who had passed away several centuries before, and were
no longer remembered by any one ?

Again, these names and inscriptions are written in two forms
of script, some of them in runic characters and some in Roman
minuscules. Who that has any knowledge of our history could
suppose that inscriptions could have been written at all in English
runes in England in the twelfth century ; a fortiori^ inscriptions
written so accurately? The only instance of runes known to
me in England from so late a date as the twelfth century is that
of the inscription on the font at Bride Kirk, which is situated in
a very Scandinavian part of England. The runes on this
inscription, however, are not English runes at all, but Scandi-
navian ones, and have nothing to do with the runes on the
crosses. The whole notion can only have occurred to one
unfamiliar with the history of our monuments. The forms of
the Roman letters also used in the inscriptions are just as in-
consistent with their belonging to the twelfth century as the
runes, for they are written in Irish minuscules quite unknown
to Norman scribes.

Thirdly, in regard to the inscriptions other than names, and
especially the poetry. Who was there in the twelfth century who
could have written the Northumbrian tongue in this fashion so
accurately and, as we have seen, in so early a form ? Who, again,
was to read it when written ? — it was quite obsolete at that date
and long before that date. What purpose, what motive could have
induced these Normans to set up in out-of-the-way villages and in
mountain graveyards these most costly monuments in memory
of forgotten people and in a speech which no one could read ?

The fact is that, instead of setting up crosses in this fashion
and taste, the early Normans ruthlessly destroyed them, in
their widespread efforts, which were especially potent in the
twelfth century, to replace the more or less humble Anglian
churches by the great Norman minsters and parish churches of
the twelfth century which especially abound in our land.

On this matter my acute friend (who did so much for
the illustration of early art in these realms), Romilly Allen,
wrote : " The Normans showed but little respect for the
sepulchral monuments of their Celtic and Saxon predecessors,
and when about to erect a church or cathedral the first thing
they did was to break up all the crosses which were on or near
the site and use them as wall-stones." ^

^ Vict. Hist, of Northamptonshire^ ii. 191, note.

308 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

These historical considerations seem to me to be entirely
conclusive, and to be much more weighty than any but the
clearest archaeological testimony. Now it happens that Professor
Cook's dating of the ornamentation on these crosses is quite
impossible. Professor C. Balfour Brown, in his answer to his
contention that they belong to the twelfth century, says " It
might more easily present itself to one who regards these
crosses as isolated objects, than to those who know them as
they really are, only the most elaborate and beautiful of a series
of monuments similar in kind, the number of which must
run into the thousands, for there are no fewer than five hundred
in Yorkshire alone. . . . Professor Cook takes no note of the fact
that a good many of the stones have come to light in a fragment-
ary condition, used as building material in mediaeval walls, some
of which are of pre-Conquest date." ^ As one example out of
many. Professor Brown cites the case of the west wall of the
church of Kirkdale, in Yorkshire, which is dated by the famous
inscribed sun-dial to within a year or two of 1060 a.d. This
had built into it, low down, a beautiful tomb slab with char-
acteristic foliage scroll-work of the Anglian type. On some of
Professor Cook's judgments on archaeology which led him to put
the crosses into the twelfth century, Professor Brown has some
useful comments. Thus in regard to the representation of the
Baptist and the Agnus Dei, of which Professor Cook writes that it
cannot, according to indication, be earlier than the twelfth century,
his critic reminds him that in another passage he had himself
mentioned an early monument, probably of the sixth century,
the ivory chair of Maximian at Ravenna, on which the principal
figure is a John the Baptist with a lamb of the very type found
on the crosses. In regard to the representation of the Annunci-
ation and the Visitation, Dr. Stuhlfauth has specially emphasised
the fact (as confirmatory of the early date of the Ruthwell cross)
that the primitive Syro-Palestinian type of the Annunciation with
the standing Mary makes its appearance on that monument;
while the Visitation occurs on the golden medallions from Adana
at Constantinople, published by Dr. Strzygofski, and which are
of the sixth and seventh century, and is also represented on
the chair of Maximian. The flight into Egypt, says Professor
Brown, which according to Professor Cook does not appear in
Christian art till the tenth or eleventh century, occurs in these
medallions in a form that reminds us curiously of the relief on
^ Burlington Magazine, vol. xxiii. p. 44.

APPENDIX IV 309

the Ruthwell cross, with the tree that is placed above the head of
the ass.^ It also occurs at St. Maria Maggiore.^ The Christ
which occurs in the scene of the washing of the feet of Christ by
the woman of Samaria on the Ruthwell cross is very like the
glorified Christ on both the great western crosses, and is an early
type. In reply to the American Professor's remark about the
representation of the Crucifixion which occurs on the Ruthwell
cross, and which he says is first found in a seventh-century Roman
painting, Professor Brown reminds him that he has overlooked its
representation on the wooden doors of St. Sabina at Rome, and
on a British Museum ivory, both of the fifth century ; and in both
cases the Saviour is shown lightly clad, as on the Ruthwell cross.
This Christ in the attitude of benediction also occurs on the
wooden coffin of St. Cuthbert at Durham. Lastly, in regard to the
royal falconer, " who is represented on the Ruthwell cross wearing
long hair. Everybody," says Professor Brown, *' knows that the
Normans cut their hair short like priests, and their heads were
shaven at the back, as is shown on the Bayeux tapestry, while
the Saxons were characterised by an ample chevelure.^^ ^

Summing up the results of his analysis. Professor Brown says
that "An examination of Professor Cook's critique on the
carving of the crosses leads to exactly the opposite result to that
he aimed at, as it tends to confirm the view of their early date,
and at any rate to place them convincingly in the Saxon
period. . . . The single fact that in all the foliage of the two
crosses there is nowhere a trace of the classical acanthus seems
almost to force one to place them earlier than the Carlovingian
renaissance.""*

I do not propose to say another word about this twelfth-
century delusion. Let us now turn to pre-Conquest days.
Here, again, we can divide English history into two notable
sections, separated by great race-changes and otherwise.

During the ninth century England was persistently invaded
and harassed by the most cruel invasion which ever tormented
it, namely, the Danes and Norsemen. They destroyed nearly all
the monasteries in the country and a large part of the churches,
and for one hundred years the poverty-stricken and impoverished
country could build no fresh ones, so that there is a great hiatus
of a whole century in English art during the ninth century.

^ Burlington Magazine^ xxiii. 44.

2 Circa 435 ; Lethaby, Burlington Magazine, xxiii. 49.

'/*• 43-45- ^Ib.6,S'

3 1 o GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Especially was this destruction felt in its richest and most
flourishing part, namely, Northumbria, where the pagan piratical
invaders displaced the older landowners and divided the land
among them. Christianity was really only restored there after
the baptism of Canute. Between the accession of Canute and
the Norman Conquest there was a certain renaissance of
English art. Churches were again built, some on a larger and
more ornamented scale than before, and crosses were also
erected. These crosses, however, were decorated with a different
kind of ornament to those existing on the crosses we are dis-
cussing.

Apart from this, the inscriptions on the latter are quite incon-
sistent with their having belonged to the post-Danish conquest.
The runes that are found on the later crosses belong to another
type of rune, namely, that which prevailed in Scandinavia, as we
should expect from their Danish origin, and are not of the English
type such as we find on the Bewcastle and other similar crosses.
The language on the latter series of crosses is also quite incon-
sistent with their being post-Danish. It is pure Northumbrian
of an early type, and contains neither Danish words nor traces
of Danish syntax such as occur on the later crosses, when the
speech of Yorkshire had become Dano-English. The names
recorded on the older crosses, again, are purely English names
written in their Northumbrian form ; not one of them is a Danish
name, and, as I have said, many of them are names of obscure
persons and not the least likely to have been commemorated
on monuments by the Danish landowners of Yorkshire in the
tenth and eleventh century, who were separated completely in
tradition from the older men, not only by their belonging to
another race but by the hundred years of restored paganism.

All this was apparently unknown to Dr. Sophus Miiller, a
deservedly high authority on Danish antiquities, but with no
special or direct knowledge of our archceology and, what is
also much more important, ignorant also of our history. In
a work entitled Dyre or?iamentike7i i IVorden, published at
Copenhagen in 1880, he dates our crosses not earlier than the
year 1000, on the astonishing ground that their decoration
belongs to the late Carlovingian period, with which it has in
fact no connection whatever, in style or otherwise. Nothing
can be plainer than that none of the crosses of the type we are
discussing have anything to do with the ninth, tenth, or eleventh
centuries. Thus by a process of exhaustion we are obliged

The Figure of the Saviour on the Rushworth and Bewcastle
Crosses, showing the same Treatment.

[I'o/. I [ [., facing p. 310.

APPENDIX IV 311

to treat the close of the eighth century as the terminus ad que7n
of our journey.

Let us therefore turn to the earliest period of Northumbrian
Christian history, and especially to that which intervened between
the advent of the Celtic monks under Aidan in the seventh century
and year 800. Here we have a different story to tell. All the
reasons which I have quoted as conclusively proving the impossi-
bility of these crosses having been erected later than the year 800,
converge upon the probability, or rather certainty, that they were
erected before the year 800. The runic letters on them belong
to that period, the language on them is exactly of that period,
the known names on them are all of persons who lived at that
period, and the poetry which occurs on the finest of them was,
as we have seen, composed by a Northumbrian poet who lived
in that period ; nor do I know of a single fact or argument that
is opposed to that conclusion except arguments drawn from a
priori and subjective considerations, and which are all full of
stupendous difficulties. I shall take it for granted, therefore,
that the crosses we are discussing were erected in the seventh
or eighth century. If we concede this we must reasonably
further insist that they were erected during the lifetime or very
soon after the death of those commemorated upon them or
bearing their names. It is mere arbitrary wilfulness to discard
this evidence without some kind of reason. So far as I know
there is no assignable reason which can be supported by argu-
ment in favour of dating these crosses at any other period
than that attested by the names occurring on them and by all the
other facts we know about them. Let me quote two instances
drawn from some of the biggest and most important of these
X crosses.

First, that at Bewcastle, with which the Ruthwell cross is
closely associated. As we saw, this cross is expressly dated in
the first year of the reign of King Ecgfrid — that is, in the year
670, and I have no doubt whatever that it was erected in that
year.

The second of these monuments which I would mention
is Trumwine's cross at Abercorn. Trumwine was appointed
Bishop of the Picts at Abercorn in the year 681. The Pictish
Mission Church came to an end in 684, when Trumwine was
driven away, having been the first and last Anglo-Pictish
Bishop. This cross must, therefore, have been set up between
681 and 684. It is quite incredible that it could have been set

:t\,

3 1 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

up after the latter date, when the Picts killed King Ecgfrith and
put an end to the domination of the Northumbrians over their
people. The last thing the Picts would have done would have
been to set up a cross in honour of a Northumbrian bishop
whom they had expelled.

Thirdly and lastly, I would quote Acca's cross, formerly at
Hexham and now at Durham, which bears his name. His
career as bishop ranges from 709 to 740.

These three crosses, being among the three most important
both in size and in ornamentation of all the Northumbrian ones,
clearly belong to the latter part of the seventh and the very
beginning of the eighth century. This is also the view of the
former Slade Professor, my friend Sir Martin Conway, who says
of the two great Western crosses : " For me they belong to the
late seventh or early eighth century and nowhere else — late
Celtic for choice." ^ So far as we know, they are among the very
earliest of these crosses, and it is no doubt a notable fact
and one to be carefully remembered, that being very early
examples they yet offer us specimens of the very highest and
most tasteful decoration which occurs on this type of cross.
There is no sign whatever of immaturity or of a prentice hand
among them, and whoever made them and whencesoever they
came the artificers were very skilled workmen as well as artists,
and must somewhere have had some excellent models.

The next question that arises is, who were these artists and
whence did they come ? The question is a very difficult one to
answer. We may, however, by a process of exclusion limit the
problem considerably.

It is perfectly plain that these crosses and the ornaments
they bear were not developed out of anything previously existing
in these islands. Nothing like them is to be found at an earlier
date either in England, Ireland, or Scotland, and yet they
appear here not in an immature and elementary form, but in
full-blown beauty, the earliest ones being the most perfect,
most beautiful, and most important from their size and dis-
tinction. It is equally plain that we can find nothing like
them in the West of Europe. They are non-existent in Germany,
France, or south of the Pyrenees, notably in France, whence so
much of our early artistic work, our buildings, church furniture,
plate, etc., were derived.

Italy at this time was a land of desolation and decrepitude.
^ Burlington Magazine^ vol. xxiv. pp. 85 and 86.

Portion of a Cross found at Jedhurgh.

From Stuart's Monumental Stones of Scotland. To be compared with the
Bewcastle Cross and the Fragments at Hexham.

\\'ol. in.t facing- p. 312.

APPENDIX IV 313

Goths, Vandals, and the early Lombards had trampled upon it in
all directions, and such times were not consistent with the rise or
development of a kind of ornament both strong and artistic.
On the other hand, the Lombards were still in their barbarous
condition, only recently converted to orthodoxy, and had not yet
developed their architectural skill of a later time.

It is plain, in fact, that the only parts of Italy where the arts
maintained a certain lethargic and crystallised form were those
immediately influenced by Byzantium through its colony at
Ravenna, or which had spread at second hand thence. Some
people have suggested as possible that Ravenna may have been
the source of the art of the great Northumbrian crosses. I
cannot for a moment accept this. The art which most of us
know well and which flourished at Ravenna was attractive
and original in its aims and products, but it had, so far as
I can see, no direct connection with that displayed on these
crosses. The figures and the interlaced tracery of vines with
small animals among the branches are diff"erently treated to
anything known to me at Ravenna, nor can we well see what
could induce any artists or patrons of art to come hither from
Ravenna, whose Archbishop and whose people, although orthodox,
were on bad terms with the ecclesiastical authorities at Rome,
and were very seclusive. At this time, again, in Ravenna they
were shut off from intercourse with the West by the unruly
Lombards and many other difliculties, and we have no evidence
that they were in communication with the West.

We are driven, therefore, to seek for our explanation farther
afield, however difficult the process may at first sight appear.
There can be no doubt that when the Mohammedans made
their terrible onslaught on the Empire in the time of Heraclius
and his family the areas where the arts were most flourishing
and perhaps most fresh and living were Syria, Asia Minor,
and Egypt. In regard to the former districts our eyes have
been immensely opened of late years, and we have been shown
how there had been a renaissance there in the times succeeding
the great Constantine, which had produced a very decided
advance in the methods of building in which architectural and
mechanical processes and developments had taken place, re-
sembling in a measure the similar movement we call the Italian
renaissance.

This was accompanied by a similar growth in the style of
ornament which we find so largely developed in the minor

314 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

elements of the churches' furniture, such as the sarcophagi, etc.
Like other similar movements, this was doubtless not a
spontaneous growth, but the result of a graft and of fresh ideas,
in this case from the very flourishing and artistically remarkable
Sassanian Empire. The combination of this with the traditions
of Old Rome produced especially in Asia Minor and Syria a
new kind of artistic growth which has been much illustrated by
the researches of Strzygofski and Miss Bell.

A contemporary and similar development was meanwhile tak-
ing place among the Christian Copts of Egypt, which has been a
revelation to us all, and has been especially illustrated by my
friend Mr. Somers Clarke and others. It is in these areas, and
these only so far as my knowledge goes, that the kind of decor-
ative art which occurs in the early Northern crosses is to be
found, and especially is this so in the Coptic remains, which have
been attracting more and more attention of late years and of
which some attractive samples have found their way to this
country recently. The first temptation among many people will
be to treat this provenance for our seventh-century Northern
art as in a measure a fantastic notion, but some consideration
may perhaps modify this view, especially as by a process of
exhaustion it seems impossible to solve the paradox in any other
way.

In the first place, then, we must remember that the seventh
century was the great era of the primitive monks and anchorites,
who were then seized with an indescribable fervour for the
monastic life. The result was to break down all kinds of
geographical boundaries and frontiers, and to create a cosmo-
politanism among the recluses which was amazing. A feeling
of brotherhood and kinship pervaded them all, whatever their
complexion, their speech, or their blood. Especially cosmo-
politan were the Irish Columban clergy ; some in search of
solitude, others in search of learning, seem to have found their
way into every corner of Central Europe — as far as Iceland
and perhaps Norway in the North, and as far as the recesses of
the Apennines in Italy and of the Alpine country, while France
was dotted with their settlements.

It must be remembered that to these primitive monks and
hermits the Mecca and focus of their craft and profession was
Egypt, in the sandy wastes of which there were vast numbers
of them in large communities, who there developed not only
their special forms of asceticism, but also their forms of learning,

APPENDIX IV 315

and who bestrewed the land with great monasteries and many
churches of a most interesting type both in design and ornament.

Again, it must be remembered that it was in the seventh
century the Mohammedan Arabs overwhelmed the countries
we are referring to and largely destroyed their religious life,
and scattered their monks and clergy in various directions.
The result was the flooding of the Italian peninsula and Sicily
with Greek monks and priests ; Greek monasteries sprang up
there, even in Rome, and Greek ecclesiastics made their way to
the higher offices in the Church, being doubtless patronised and
supported by the great Emperor and his officials. It is a most
noteworthy fact that at this time quite a number of Greeks in
succession became Popes, and so far as we can discover mtro-
duced a good many changes into the cults and ritual of the
Latin Church.

It was not only Italy where this took place, but in far-off
Britain, where Rome had its own specially cherished mission.
We had a Greek in the Metropolitan see at Canterbury, and
another Greek at the head of the senior English monastery, that
of St. Augustine's at Canterbury, and we further know that here
and in Ireland there was a special fervour for studying Greek at
this time unmatched elsewhere in Europe, and virtually unknown
in Gaul. There was also a constant moving to and fro of
students and scholars in search of fresh methods of learning and
teaching. Nuns rivalled monks in their pursuit of knowledge
and their aptitude at composing classical verses.

Meanwhile the fashion for travel was stimulated by the
desire of visiting Rome, the Western capital of Christendom,
and Jerusalem, the birthplace of the Faith. All this was very
especially the case in these realms, and notably in Ireland. We
cannot doubt that among these pilgrims and travellers there
must have been some who brought back visions of the fine
churches and fine services they had noticed, and brought back,
too, patterns and samples of the artistic work they had seen.

It is not so wonderful, therefore, that at this time the
renascent style of ornament which had grown up in the rich
and prosperous lands of the Seleucidae and the Ptolemies,
and been especially cultivated by the provincial inhabitants
of those Roman provinces, should have found their way to
Britain. It is noteworthy that it came not to the South of
England, where such remains are virtually not found, but to the
North, where the ecclesiastical movement was so full of life, and

3 1 6 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

where it was especially cherished by the clergy of the Irish
mission, who founded the famous school of Neo-Celtic art at
Lindisfarne.

It is noteworthy, too, that some of the very finest and earliest
of the crosses we are discussing have been found not in
the eastern parts of the Northumbrian land but in the lands
bordering the Solway Firth, where we have evidence that there
was a port at which there was much commerce not only with
Ireland but with the Continent, namely, Ravenglas. All this
converges on the probability that the crosses we are discussing
had their inspiration in the Coptic art of Egypt or the Neo-
Roman art of Syria and the prosperous lands of Asia Minor.

The view here expressed, that the art of the earliest Anglian
crosses came from Egypt and Syria, was reached independently
by myself, and it was only after the previous remarks were
written that I was greatly pleased to find that I had the support
of greater authorities than myself, and notably my distinguished
friends, Dalton and Lethaby. Dalton unhesitatingly attributes
the crosses to the seventh century. In regard to the sculptures
on them, he says on page 103 of his Byzantine Art and
ArchcEology: "Reasons are advanced elsewhere (p. 236) for the
belief that this really remarkable sculpture, which decayed almost
as suddenly as it arose, must have been inspired from foreign
(East Christian) sources."

Turning to the reference here made on page 236, Mr. Dalton,
speaking of the sculpture on the Bewcastle and Ruthwell crosses,
says : '' It appears very suddenly and decays with great rapidity ;
its rise and fall are those of an exotic art which flourishes during
the persistence of exceptional conditions but is unable to
maintain itself when they are withdrawn. The half-figure of
Christ at Rothbury, not a hundred years later than the Bewcastle
cross, shows all the symptoms of decadence, the staring eyes,
the elongated lips, the drapery channelled rather than modelled,
are all evidence of a growing incapacity. . . . With the crosses of
Aycliffe and Ilkley, and the fragment from Gainford, the decay
is complete : the human figures have almost shrunk to con-
ventional hieroglyphs without pretence to natural truth. It can
hardly be doubted, therefore, that this meteoric appearance of
a monumental sculpture in Northumbria must be ascribed to
external influence. To the question from what quarter this
influence proceeded there is only one probable answer : it must
in the first instance have come from the east of the Mediter-

APPENDIX IV 317

ranean. Neither in Ireland, nor in the Prankish dominions, nor
in Italy do we know any sculpture at all comparable with this, or
any art in which the human figure is treated with greater ability." ^

Let me now turn to Professor Lethaby, who has written so
ably on these crosses. He points out that a sculpture which
has a striking resemblance to the figures on our crosses is
illustrated by Mr. Dalton in his Figure 85. This is Coptic.
Speaking of the braided patterns on the Bewcastle cross, he
derives them from Coptic sources, and he quotes Dalton as
attributing " the diagonal key pattern " or " skew fret " on these
same crosses to Eastern sources, while he himself derives it
from Coptic textiles or manuscripts such as the Book of
Durrow and in the Lindisfarne gospels, "Unless," he adds, "as
I believe is probable. Eastern artists themselves brought their
traditions." He similarly attributes the foliage pattern on the
Bewcastle cross where the scrolls interlace to Coptic prototypes,^
and he concludes : *' I am entirely satisfied that the Ruthwell
cross is a seventh-century monument, and I believe that its art
tyf>es were derived from Coptic sources." ^

Another piece of notable evidence in this behalf is to be
found in the very singular fact that among the unusual in-
cidents figured on the Ruthwell cross one represents the meeting
of the two anchorites Paul and Anthony in the Egyptian
desert.'*

Another proof of the early date of these crosses is deducible
from the forms of the letters in which the inscriptions which
are not written in runes are set out. On this Mr. Lethaby has
some very useful remarks. He says the pure alphabet in which
the Latin inscriptions are written is in an Irish form of script.
They resemble those on the early grave slabs found at Hartle-
pool, and are of an entirely different character to the inscribed
dedication-stone of the church at Jarrow, a work of the Roman
school. The Ruthwell inscription is certainly in the Celtic tradi-
tion.^ On the same subject, Mr. Lethaby writes elsewhere : —

" At my suggestion. Miss D. Moxon, of the Royal College of
Art, made some time ago a close study of the alphabet of
the Latin inscription, and this she allows me to reproduce. . . .

* Byzantine Art and Archaology, p. 236.

^See Dalton, Figure 27 and Figures 22, 23, 24, and 25 for single scrolls.
' Burlington Magazine, vol. xxi. p. 146.

* See Lethaby, Arch. Journal ^ Ixx. 145 and 146.
^ lb. 147.

3 1 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

There can be no doubt that the result gives us a semi-Irish
hand such as was in use in Northumbria about the year 700.
The X, for instance, is Hke the famous great X of the Book of
Kells. ... I would point out one rather remarkable coincidence
regarding the contractions I H S . X P S. On the Ruthwell
cross the Greek H is improperly represented by the
letter h. Now on the Gospels from Bobbio in the National
Library at Turin the letters are rendered in exactly the
same way, I h S." ^ Again he says : " A curious form of &
occurs on the Ruthwell cross, and a somewhat similar symbol
for it is common in Saxon and Irish MSS., including
the Book of Kells." ^ In a later paper Mr. Lethaby adds :
" I should now like to make the correction that the sign
for & is much more like that found in Irish MSS. than
was shown. ... A similar symbol is found on the
Welsh cross at Caldey Island, and on a Cornish cross at
Lauherne." ^

Turning from the inscriptions in Romano-Irish letters to
those written in runes, about which there has also been some
mystification, the evidence seems to me to entirely confirm the
other facts here adduced. In the first place, it is a strong
argument in favour of the early date for the Ruthwell cross that
so long an inscription should have been written at all in runes
and not in Roman letters, which superseded them at an early
date even on the crosses. The runes used in this country were
of two series, an early series known as English runes and a later
one which was especially developed in Scandinavia and was
used in England by the Danes and Norwegians of a later date.
They differ from each other in details rather than substantially.
It has been argued that in the case of these crosses some of the
runes point to a later date for the inscriptions than the seventh
century.

That the runes on the crosses are English runes and
do not belong to the Scandinavian series is beyond doubt.
Long ago Dr. Duncan in his memoir on the Ruthwell cross in
the New Statistical Account of Scotland^ written in 1845, said:
"The runes are not Danish, but Anglo-Saxon, a discovery which
seems to have been made by Grimm, which establishes that the
date must be sought for during the Heptarchy. . . . Repp has

* Burlington Magazine^ vol. xxi. p. 145.

^ lb, vol. xxiii. p. 48.

^ Arch. Journal^ vol. Ixx. p. 147, note.

APPENDIX IV 319

discovered that the runic alphabet is widely different from that
employed by the Danes."

The only reasonable objections which have been made to
the conclusions here urged were raised by Dr. Baldwin Brown,
who otherwise agrees with the view that the crosses are of the
earliest type. He says, speaking of the cross head at Ruthwell,
that he has not been able to find any cross heads so like the
Ruthwell example of earlier date than examples from Rothbury,
Northumberland, and others built into the Norman walling of
the chapter-house at Durham, and dated by their position
between the years 1000 and 1083. In regard to this. Professor
Lethaby says conclusively : "The cross head has been falsified
in restoration ; the second curve in the lower arm had no
existence before the cross was broken." ^

Dr. Brown also urges that two of the runes in the inscription
are of a later date. In regard to this we must remember that
the Ruthwell cross inscription is by far the longest one we know
written in English runes. If we exclude it we have very few
inscriptions, and these short and unimportant, belonging to the
earlier time extant. It would under these circumstances be very
rash to base a wide induction which would be at issue with
all the other evidence we possess on negative testimony. As Mr.
Lethaby says : " The inscriptions are so few that a complete
alphabet cannot be made up from them. Now it happens that
the need for the particular runic letters which are objected to
does not, I believe, occur at all in the short series, so that it is
impossible to say they would not have been used."^

To this I would add that the two characters in question,
answering to G and K, are ^X^ and y+v , and neither of them
occurs among the Scandinavian runes. Stephens in his vast
corpus of runic inscriptions has analysed the usage of the
runic characters very minutely, and tells us that among the
old Northern runes, by which he means those older than the
Viking times, there are only two forms of the rune for K, one
/^Y\ o" the Ruthwell cross, and p4^ on the Bewcastle cross,
showing that the former is a mere variant. This is still more
clear from the fact that on the Ruthwell cross itself h. also occurs
as a variant of the same letter.

In regard to the other rune which stands for G, I can
only find it twice among the hundred inscriptions described by
^ Arch, Journal^ vol. Ixx. p. 155. 2 /^^ p^ 1^5^

3 20 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Stephens. On the table in vol. i. of his great work, p. 125, may
be seen, however, quite a number of variants of this letter closely
allied to it in form, showing that it is a mere accidental variety.
It is clear, therefore, that any argument based on these two
accidental runes must be a very fragile one, and hardly weighs in
the balance at all compared with the mass of evidence on the
other side.

This concludes my analysis of the dates of the great crosses
at Bewcastle and Rush worth and Abercorn; a large series of others
may be approximately dated by them, and I claim to have shown
that the criticisms of foreign critics on the dates and artistic ties
of these domestic monuments of ours are based on very imperfect
knowledge, and do not in any way affect the otherwise conclusive
date assigned to them by a whole catena of expert English
antiquaries.

APPENDIX V

THE CODEX AMIATINUS OF THE BIBLE:
ITS HISTORY AND IMPORTANCE

Bede's tract on the history of the abbots of Jarrow and
Wearmouth is largely based on an earlier work on the life of
Abbot Ceolfrid by a monk of one of those two monasteries whose
name is not recorded. Bede both epitomises and enlarges this
earlier narrative, and tells us inter alia that Ceolfrid ruled for
seven years at Jarrow and twenty-eight years over the combined
monasteries, hiter alia the anonymous author in speaking of
the abbot says :

" Bihliothecam qiiam de Roma vel ipse^ vel Benedidus adtulerat,
nobi liter a7?ipliavit, ita ut i?iter alia tres Pandectes {i.e. whole
^WA^s) facer et describi^ quorum duo per totitem sua monasteria {i.e.
Jarrow and Wearmouth) /(^i'^^/Z /;? aecclesiis, ut cunctis qui aliquod
capitulum de uirolibet testamento legere voluisse?it^ in promptu
esset invenire quod cupere?it ; tertium autem Ronia7n profecturus
donum beato Petro Apostolorum principi offer re decrevit.^^ ^

In his paraphrase of the work of the anonymous author, just
quoted, Bede, referring to these codices, writes : " Bibliothecam
utriusque moiiasterii quam Benedidus Abbas magna caepit
instaniia, ipse non minori geminavit industria ; ita ut tres
pandedes novae translationis, ad unum vetustae translationis quern
de Roma adtuhrat ipse super adjungeret ; quorum unum senex
RomafH rediens secum inter alia pro munere sumpsit^ duos utrique
monaster io reliquit^ ^

This statement seems very plain, and yet it is full of
ambiguity.

About 716 Ceolfrid resigned his abbacy, being then an old
man of seventy-four, and determined to go on a pilgrimage
{apostoloru?n limiiia peregrinaturus adiret).'^ He took with him
a letter of commendation to the Pope from his successor Abbot
.Hwaetberht, with certain gifts. Before he reached Rome he

^ Plummer's Bede, i. 395. ^ Plummer, i. 379. ^ lb. i. 395.

VOL. III. — 21

3 2 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

fell ill, and died on 25 th September 716. This was at Langres
(Lingones), where he was buried.^ Of his companions some
returned home and some went on to Rome taking with them
the gifts he had sent {delatura viunera quae miserat).'^ Among
them was the Pandectes interpretatione beati Hieronymi presbiteri
ex Hebraeo et Greco fonte transfusus just cited. This pandect,
as is well known, has survived the dangers of more than twelve
hundred years, and is extant in a very perfect condition. It
has been identified by an extremely interesting and ingenious
inductive process with the most famous of all Latin Biblical
MSS. — namely, the Codex Amiatinus. A short account of it
will make my further argument clearer. It is now preserved
in the Mediceo-Ambrosian Library at Florence, where many
theological pilgrims have been to see and collate it. On the title-
page of the Codex are some verses stating that it had been
presented to the Monastery of Monte Amiata by a certain
Petrus Lombardorum Abbas^ who lived at the end of the ninth
or beginning of the tenth century.

The second hexameter runs thus :

" Petrus Longobardorum extremis de finibus abbas"

The famous Italian scholar De Rossi showed in 1886 that
the name and style of the Lombard abbot in the dedicatory
verses were written over erasures, and that the name " Petrus "
had been altered from ''^ Ceoljrid^'^ the word ^^ abbas" doing
duty for both names, while the words ''^corpus Petri" in
the first line had been changed to " Coe7iobium St. Sahatoris"
This was a clear proof that the original dedication had
been made by Abbot Ceolfrid. He further suggested that
the word " Longobardorum " had been substituted for that of
"Briton." Bishop Forest Browne pointed out the objections to
this last suggestion, namely, that the line as corrected did not
scan, and, secondly, that it was virtually impossible for a
Northumbrian in the eighth century to speak of himself as a
Briton. In his opinion the second word should be " Anglorum" a
view afterwards shown to be correct. — London Guardian^ March 2,
1887.

Soon after. Dr. Hort, writing in the Academy of 26th February
1887, was further able to show that in the anonymous Life of
Ceolfrid already cited, the publication of which by Stevenson in
1841 had apparently been overlooked abroad, there occur

^ Plummer, i. 385 and 402.

^ Anon. Life of Ceolfrid^ ib, 400 and 402.

Lt KjpBimAc^ ex lain ax iirro

. (|cjcxnc \paTc<.x:l,esi\e
J C^ce>ie\r \J,T\ pidcs

> ^- J'-
C \ TRtXIllS C>CplNin- \BR\S

< Oc cjori \|:i:a Ttis

p\^ NORX OplT TO cnc I

"• cDcxjue mip^sq bpTANs

. TVN Tl INTd^q\Ut>l\ p\ I R IS.
INCVdiS CnGOfioRCXll

^cxr>pc:ii b\HciK Locua) '

Dedication of the Codex Amiatixls as
now reads.

IT

[I'oi II f., facing- ^. 322.

APPENDIX V 323

certain verses in which Ceolfrid's name was enshrined. These,
Dr. Hort showed, were the very verses in which Ceolfrid
dedicated the pandect he took to Rome as a present to the
Pope, and which also occur in the Codex Afniatinus. The verses
as reported in the anonymous Life are :

** Corpus ad exittiii merito venerabile Petri
Dcdicat aecclesiae quern caput alta fides
Ceolfridus Anglorurn extremis de finibus abbas
Devoti affectus pigtiora mitto mei.
Meque meosqtie optans tanti inter gaudia patris
In caelis mettiorem semper habere locum. ^"^

Inasmuch as the circumstances, the date of the script, etc.,
concurred to support this view, it was at once and everywhere
accepted. The whole story is told with admirable lucidity in
Mr. H. J. White's Memoir on the MS. in the second volume of
Studia Biblia. This discovery at once greatly enhanced the
value of the Amiatinus Codex^ which was thus proved to be
certainly not later than the year 716. This was not the end of
the matter, however, as a more careful and critical examination
of the MS. showed that it was not homogeneous, but that the
first quaternion is markedly different from the rest, and the parch-
ment on which it is written is not quite so tall as that of the
other gatherings, and is darker and thicker. Further, this gather-
ing is not signed, and the second quaternion, beginning the Bible
text itself, is marked i. Lastly, the writing of the lists and
prefatory matter in the first quaternion is in a different hand
from that of the body of the book, all going to show that that
section and the rest of the volume came from two different sources.

Mr. White has given a syllabus of the contents of this
quaternion which is instructive. He tells us fol. i is blank ;
\b has the dedicatory verses already cited; 2 is blank; 2b
and 3 contain a large bird's-eye view of the Tabernacle ; 3/^ is
blank ; 4 contains a prologue to the contents of the MS. ; 4^
contains a list of the books in the Amiatine MS. arranged to
suit two volumes, with certain hexameter lines below ; fol. 5
has a picture of Ezra seated at his desk with a bookcase close
by ; 5^ is blank ; 6 contains a list of the Bible books according
to Jerome, with a sacred lamb, etc., above ; 7 has another and
different list of the sacred books underneath the head of a
monk ; 'jb is stained yellow, and has a number of circles drawn
on it ; 8 contains the Bible books according to St. Augustine,
and also a picture of a dove wiih spread wmgs surrounded by

3 24 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

flames, with two fillets from which hang the six divisions of the
sacred books ; Zb is blank. Bishop Browne treats this folio as an
outside. He also observes that fol. 6 must at one time have
been next to fol. 8, since part of the couplet at the top of the
latter can be read on the face of fol. 6b, a considerable part of
the couplet having been impressed in reverse upon it. This is
due to the fact that this entry, unlike any other in the MS., is
formed by a profusion of thick black pigment, which has been
silvered, and has the air of an insertion. If the quaternion were
arranged properly, from the nature of the case, the " temple "
must have been the innermost sheet. The donation with the
Augustinian division of Scripture has naturally been the inner-
most. The Ezra portion with the Hieronymian division would
then be 2 and 7 ; the prologue and the contents of the codex,
the Hilarion division, and the contents of the Pentateuch, which
are now separate pages, would be 3 and 6. — London Guardian,
April 29, 1887, p. 651.

Professor Corssen and Mr. White have both written about the
contents of this quaternion and have greatly illustrated it, but the
last word has still to be said. I would urge in regard to the first
leaf with its dedicatory verses that it has nothing to do with
any other part of the MS., but was entirely supplied by Ceolfrid
himself, who wrote the verses. The 4th folio, again, which is
stained on both sides with a fine purple while the writing is on
a yellow ground (doubtless to simulate gold) is arranged in tables
within a double arch of twisted-rope pattern, and contains
the prologue and the list of books in the succeeding codex.
This was once, no doubt, as Professor Corssen suggests, an
integral part of the Amiatinus volume, forming probably its
initial pages. There are some slight discrepancies between the
prologue and the contents of the book, which is also the case
with the temple of contents. On this Bishop Browne says : " It
will be found on counting the books recited that they are thirty-
six. Adding one each for 2 Samuel, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and
2 Esdras, we obtain seventy, the number of the prologue. On
the other hand, the codex actually contains seventy-one,
Jeremiah and Lamentations being represented in the contents as
* Hosemias.' Thus the discrepancies may not be real."

The rest of the folios in the first quaternion — namely,
2j 3, 5? 6, 7, and 8 — had nothing whatever to do originally
with the succeeding codex and have been transplanted from
another MS. They were probably added to this one by Ceolfrid

trt 1 1 1

DYSiS

3-

9"

(^^

c
c

J"

i

r
1

i

i
I

i
i
i

J"

^

^ >J » > iP W>

■ J I • I ; L xc

Si

LTJ^.

Vi^z

^LWRE

LABRw,

.■toLocAVj-a

] MOSfS E^ A.\I^:>H

ANAT<^1

^ZJ'

3'

Plan of the Jewish Tabernacle from the
Codex Amiatixus.

[Vol. I II., facing p. 324.

APPENDIX V 325

to give his present to the Pope a grander and more sumptuous ap-
pearance. The Codex is quite complete without these additions.
It is plain, therefore, that the first quaternion of the Codex
A?niatt?ius, with the exception of fol. 4, had nothing to do with
the MS. as originally written, that fol. i was the composition of
Ceolfrid himself, and that the other folios formed a transported
boulder from some other MS.

Let us now turn to the boulder in question, i.e. folios 2, 3,
5, 6, 7, and 8 of quaternion i. Whence did it come? It had
already been noticed by Dr. Corssen in 1883 that one of the
pictures in the 2nd and 3rd folios of the Codex Amiatinus —
namely, that of the Tabernacle — was also mentioned by Cassio-
dorus as contained in a codex in his library which was called
by him the " Codex Gra?idior.'' Cassiodorus thus speaks of it :
" tabernaailum te77ipliimque Domini . . . quae depida subtiliter
lineameyitis propriis i?i Pandecte Latino corporis grandioris.^^^
Bishop Browne says that in his comments on Psalm xiv. i
Cassiodorus writes : " Qtias nos fecimus frugi, et in pandectes
collocari." — Lo?idon Guardian, April 1887, p. 652.

Cassiodorus elsewhere describes the contents of this Pandectes
Gra7idior, and tells us that the Latin text in it was the Old
Latin version. Now, as we have seen, Bede tells us that Ceolfrid,
or Benedict Biscop, brought a pandect to Northumbria con-
taining the Old Latin version. Dr. Hort very ingeniously
carried this induction further by quoting two passages from
Bede's minor works. One of these comes from his tract on the
Tabernacle, ii. 12, and reads as follows : " Quo modo in pictura
Cassiodori se?iatoris cujus ipse in expositione Psalmorum meminit
expressum vidimus " ; and again, in his tract on Solomon's Temple,
ch. xvi., he says: ^^ Has vero porticus Cassiodorus senator in
pandectis ut ipse Psalniorum ex positione com??iemorat triplici
or dine distincta " ; adding below : " Haec ut in pictura Cassiodori
reperimus distincta^

As Dr. Hort says : " This is the language of a man who had
actually seen with his own eyes the representation of the
Tabernacle and the Temple which Cassiodorus had inserted in
his pandect." 2 This is not all. In the preface to his Memoir de
Institutio7ie Divi7tarum Litterarum^ Cassiodorus tells us how he
had withdrawn from the world and devoted himself to study,
and adds: ^'' Indubitanter ascendamus ad divi7iam Scripturam
per expositiones probabiies Patrum. . . . Ista est enim fortasse
1 Inst., ch. V. 2 Yi^^ White, op. cit. 300.

3 26 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

scala Jacob per quam angeli ascendu7ti et descendu7it. . . . Quo
circa si placet himc debemiis lectio?iis ordi?iem custodire ut priinum
tirones Christi postquam psah?ios didicere?it aiictoritatem divifiam
in codicibus emendatis j'ugi exercitatiofie meditentiir donee illis fiat
Domino praestante notissifna : ne vitia librariorum impolitis
mentibus inolescant, quia difficile potest erui quod memoriae
sinibus radicatum constant infigi.''^

The work in which these commentaries of the Fathers were
abstracted or copied he describes in the first nine chapters of the
de Instituiione, each chapter being devoted to describing a
single codex. The whole work consisted of nine codices or
volumes. These codices were respectively headed : Caput I.
Primus Scripturarum divinarmn codex est Octateuchus \ C. H.
In Secundo Regum codice ; C. III. Ex omni igitur Frophetarufn
codice tertio; C. IV. Sequitur Psalterium codex quartus ; C. V.
Quintus codex est Salofno?iis ; C. VI. Sequitur Hagiographorum
codex sextus ; C. VII. Septimus igitur codex . . . quatuor
Evangelistarum superna luce resplendet \ C. VIII. Octavus codex
Canonicas Epistolas continet Apostolorum ; C. IX. Igitur codex
Actus Apostolorum ut Apocalypsin noscitur continere.^

On turning to the first quaternion of the Codex Amiatinus —
which, as we have seen, was in the main transferred from the
Codex Grandior of Cassiodorus — and especially to the picture
there contained of Ezra in his cell, we shall find a representation
of a bookcase containing nine large volumes, each one labelled.
The labels in question, as Corssen was the first to point out,
correspond with one exception to the titles here referred to.
They are Oct. lib. Rest. lib. Psal. lib. Sal. Prof. Evangel IIII.
Epist. op. XXI. Act. Ap. Apoca. The one mistake is due,
no doubt, to the artist, who instead of Hagi has written
Hest.

There cannot be any reasonable doubt that the picture of
the bookcase and its contents was either directly copied from
the original MS. of Cassiodorus or formed part of that MS.

It is prima facie nearly certain that the latter alternative is
the right one, and that the MS. from which the greater part of
the first quaternion of the Codex Amiati?ius was derived was
the actual original Codex Grandior of Cassiodorus ; otherwise,
Bede's language about his having himself seen that Codex is
unintelligible. At the end of the seventh and the beginning of
the eighth century the so-called Vulgate text of Jerome had

^ White, op. cit. 2.()i.

VJUOOOO OOo -J j3

m

m

m

O (, o ^

j-kwr

Ezra composing his Edition of the Bible from the
Codex Ami a tixus.

[Fo/. II I ., facing p. 326.

APPENDIX V 327

supplanted its predecessor, generally known as the Vetus Laii?ia
and sometimes as the Itala, which had become obsolete.^ It
would therefore be of only remote interest to its Italian
custodians, who had themselves become poor judges of such
matters, for Italy was then terribly troubled by the Lombards
and other invaders, and they would be willing to part with it
to a rich Northern traveller anxiously in search for MSS. for
his new monastery. The fact of Jerome's text having become
so widely recognised would, we cannot doubt, make it very
unlikely that the same Northern traveller would have a new
copy made of the older version on this grand scale. Again, both
writing and designs in the first quaternion are so Italian in
style and so different to anything English written at this time,
that it seems conclusive if it was a copy, and not an original,
that it was copied in Italy. I think some of Mr. White's
hesitation in the matter is a little strained, and I agree with the
paragraph in which he argues that the first quaternion was
bodily transferred from the actual Codex Grandior to its present
place. " The Codex Grandior was certainly," he says, " in North
Britain, for Bede saw it there." It may well have been the
Pa?idectes vetustae translationis which Benedict Biscop or
Ceolfrid brought from Rome, and it would be quite in keeping
with the times that Ceolfrid, in presenting his magnificent new
pandect to the Holy See, should have tacked to it the quaternion,
which had hitherto stood at the beginning of Cassiodorus' Old
Latin pandect, and which was so handsomely decorated.

All this paragraph was in print when I met with Bishop
Browne's letters in the Lo?idon Guardian. This makes our con-
currence at this point most interesting. " It appears to be sup-
posed," he says, " that the three pandects which Ceolfrid caused
to be written were all alike, and that the Amiatinus is one of the
three copies, pictures and all. An examination of the orna-
mental part leads to a very different conclusion, namely, that at
least the Ezra pictures and the Solomon's temple, which is in
fact the Tabernacle in full detail, are not copies made in
England but the original pictures of Cassiodorus."

The question still remains as to the time when the Codex

^ It seems incredible that the copy of the Vetus Latina which we know
Benedict brought to Jarrow would be a new codex. That translation was
then obsolete and of no special interest to anyone except an advanced scholar,
and would be a very costly and difficult text to translate for merely archaeo-
logical purposes.

32 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

came to England. The Life of Ceolfrid says that it was he
who brought it here from Rome. Now the only visit which we
know Ceolfrid paid to Italy was in 678,^ when he accompanied
his patron and friend, Benedict Biscop, thither. This we learn
from Bede's Ecclesiastical History^ iv. 18, where he says : " Cu7?i
enim idem Benedictus construxisset monasferium Britanniae in
honorem beatissimi apostolorum priftcipis, juxta ostium fiuminis
Uiri {i.e. Jarrow), venit Romam cum cooperatore ac socio
ejusdein operis Ceolfrido^ qui post ipsum ejusdem Monasterii abbas
fuit.^^^ On this visit (as on other visits to Italy) Benedict
Biscop, as Bede tells us, brought home " innu^nerabilem librorum
omnis generis copiam.''^

My conclusion, therefore, is, first, that Ceolfrid brought
back to England the very MS. called Codex Grandior by
Cassiodorus, and that it was from its text that Bede obtained
so many of the passages which he quotes in different places from
" the Old Latin," and, secondly, that it was this very MS. which
was decapitated by Ceolfrid, who placed its earlier pages in front
of the Codex he had had prepared for the Pope.

Let us now detach the intrusive first quaternions from the Codex
Amiatinus and turn to the text in its original form. According to
the anonymous Lives of the Abbots of Monkwearmouth and of
Bede, this Codex was one of three copies which Ceolfrid had had
made. The opinion widely current is that these copies were written
in Northumbria. To this I entirely demur. The notion that
they were written in Northumbria at this time seems to me quite
incredible. The two monasteries over which Ceolfrid presided
were very young. The books in their libraries, the ornaments
for the churches, everything required for the ritual and service
of the Church (so far as we know from the Life of Benedict
Biscop), had been brought from Italy or Gaul, and the possibility
of such works as these three magnificent codices being turned
out of the scriptoria of the two convents at this time seems quite
incredible. Even Dr. Hort and Mr. White, who hold this view,
postulate that Ceolfrid must have brought an Italian scribe with
him ; but surely three enormous pandects like these, requiring
parchments of very large size and quality, could never have been
produced in Northumbria at this time by the hands of one
scribe or of two scribes. They must have come from a practised
and well-known school of writers and scribes, and such a school
could only at this time have been found in South Italy. It must
^ Plummer, Bede^ ii. 360. ^ lb. i. 241.

Fi(}URE OF St. Matthew, clearly coi-ied from the
Similar Figure ix the Codex Amiatixus on the
PREVIOUS Page, forming the P^rontispiece to his
Gospel in ihe Lindlsfarne MS.

[Vol. III., facing- />. 328.

APPENDIX V 329

be remembered that it is not only the size and quality of the
parchment and the beauty of the writing in this MS. which
are so attractive, but the accuracy and excellence of the text.

My readers will remember the plaintive language used by
Bede about the very indifferent provision for manuscript writing
that existed in the monasteries with which he had such close
ties, and how he had himself to perform most of the drudgery of
copying.

Again, if it had been produced in Northumbria we should
surely have found some traces of Northumbrian art in it such
as we find in what I take to be its real Northumbrian daughter —
namely, the Lindisfarne Gospels, a work of much more moderate
size, but teeming with that local colour from which the Codex
Amiatinus is quite free. The text, again, of the Lindisfarne
Gospels is now generally accepted as having been derived from
the Amiatine MS. On this point Bishop Browne says: "There
are some remarkable agreements between the first quaternions of
the Amiatinus and the Lindisfarne Gospels. The Lindisfarne
S. Matthew is Ezra pure and simple in curiously exact detail,
stool and all, but the stool is ornamented with little circles in
place of the classical scroll on Ezra's stool. . . . The Canons in
the two MSS. present a series of striking coincidences from the
point of view of ornament and arrangement. As regards their
text Amiatinus breaks down over VIIL and VII IL and does
not find it out ; Lindisfarne also misread the Villi, and wrote
something wrong in the plan of X., but found it out and altered
it" {Londo?t Guardian, April 27, 1887). Now the Lindisfarne
Gospels were written for St. Cuthberht, and belonged to him.
St. Cuthberht died in the year 687, so that they must have been
written before that date and after Ceolfrid's return from Italy in
678. Is it credible that these two MSS. could both have been
written in the same small scriptorium during these nine years,
one purely Italian in script and decoration, and the other the
finest specimen of Celtic art known ? I cannot believe it.

Those who claim a Northumbrian origin for the Codex
Amiatinus tell us, as I have said, that it was written by
Italian scribes. This was first suggested by Dr. Hort
in the Acadertiy of 26th February 1887 ; the view was
supported by Sir E. Maunde Thompson.^ Mr. White says
that as a Roman musician was brought over to teach the
English monks to sing, so an Italian scribe may well have
1 See Paloeography, pp. 194 and 245.

3 30 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

come to instruct them in writing, and the Amiatinus Bible
may be the work of a foreigner though written in England.^
This solution, even if it were consistent with the difficulties
to be met, leaves an important matter unresolved. If the
three pandects of the New Version were copied in England
some time between 687 and 716, whence was the text
derived from which they were copied? I have not seen this
question put by any one. The solution of Mr. White and
others that the three copies were made in Northumbria compels
the further conclusion that the mother MS. from which they
were taken was at the time in Northumbria. If so, it is not
easy to see why Ceolfrid should have gone to the great expense
of having three fresh copies made on this scale ; for his needs
were completely satisfied when he had secured two additional
copies, making three altogether — namely, one each for his two
monasteries and one for the Pope. Nor have we any trace
of or reference to any other copy but these three. There are
other reasons which seem to me to make it difficult to believe
that the three copies were made in Northumbria. The writing
out of these three enormous pandects was so great a feat that
if it had been accomplished by scribes in Northumbria it would
in all probability have been recorded by Bede or in the
anonymous Life of Ceolfrid, which merely say that Ceolfrid
had the copies made, without saying where. Again, if Ceolfrid
could command scribes in Northumbria capable of writing out
these codices, he would assuredly, in preparing the copy for
the Pope, have also prepared a suitable heading and not
decapitated another fine MS. in order to procure one. It is,
lastly, hard to imagine whence the quite unusually large sheets
of parchment in such abundance could have been forthcoming
in Britain at this time, or anywhere else north of the Alps at this
time. I have therefore come to the conclusion that the three
copies were not only made by Italians, but were made in Italy.

The next question is, in which part of Italy were the copies
made, and where was the mother MS. whence they were taken ?

Upon this problem a good deal of light has recently accumu-
lated, going to show that not only was the mother text in
question a South Italian MS., but that it was one of the
texts described by Cassiodorus as in his possession. Dom
Chapman has pointed out that " the arrangement of the text of
the Codex Amiatinus^ per cola et conwiata, after the example of

1 Op, cit. 285.

APPENDIX V 331

St. Jerome himself, is not peculiar to this text, but its divisions
seem to have been particularly well preserved in it. Now
Cassiodorus had been careful as to this very point, as he tells
us in his preface to the Institutio. Again, the word Pandectes
as applied to the Codex Amiaiinus both by the anonymous
author of the Abbots' Lives and by Bede, is precisely the word
used by Cassiodorus for a complete Bible. Thirdly, the order
of the groups of books in the Codex Amiatiniis^ and in that
alone among Vulgate texts, is the same as the order which
was followed by Cassiodorus (a fact important to note for other
reasons). It is plain that the ordering of groups and books
within the groups in the Codex A7?iiati7ius and by Cassiodorus
is a peculiar and unique one, and that they agree in the
peculiarity." As Dom Chapman again says : " The Amiatine list
is a list of the books in St. Jerome's Version arranged in the
same nine groups as those of the antiqua translation or Codex
Grandior^ and of the nine volumes of Cassiodorus; but the
interior order of the groups is that of St. Jerome. We know
that in Cassiodorus' nine volumes this was the case, as in the
volume containing Solomon's works ; while in that of the
Epistles he certainly put those of St. Paul first and not last,
as they were in the antiqua translatio. But the number of
books is counted as seventy with that list, and not forty-nine with
St. Jerome. It seems to be plain that this grouping in the text
can only be due to one cause — namely, that it is derived from
that of the nine volumes of Cassiodorus. In these the grouping
was obviously due to the necessity of fitting the commentaries
into volumes of more or less equal size. It would not have
arisen independently in a codex which contained the Hiero-
nymian Vulgate only, without the commentaries. The size, again,
of the Codex Aniiatimis is the same as that which is other-
wise known as the Codex Grandior of Cassiodorus." ^ Without
committing myself to every statement in this account, it seems
to me to make the conclusion incontestible that the mother
MS. of the text of the Codex Amiatinus was in the library
of Cassiodorus in the monastery of Scyllacium in the extreme
south of Italy. As we have already seen, Ceolfrid's copy of
the older version also came from the same great scriptorium,
and was most probably the very copy of the Old Latin version
described by Cassiodorus as the Codex Grandior. This increases

^ See Chapman, A^^/^5- on the Early History of the Vulgate Gospels, 19
and 20.

3 32 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

the probability that the ultimate source of both texts was the
same Cassiodorian collection. We can hardly doubt, there-
fore, that when Benedict Biscop and Ceolfrid visited Italy —
very largely, no doubt, in search of MSS. and other requisites
for their services and for their library — they made their way
to Scyllacium, whose secluded situation protected it from the
ravage which was then overtaking the rest of Italy. It was
doubtless from that great manufactory of MSS. that they
secured the Codex Grandior which they took back with them,
and it was there also that they commissioned the three copies
of the new translation which are mentioned by the author of
Ceolfrid's biography and by Bede.

Having traced the later history of the codex presented by
Ceolfrid to the Pope and known as the Aniiattnus, a word or
two may be said about the other copies given by Ceolfrid to
his two monasteries of Jarrow and Monkwearmouth. Until
a short time ago these codices were deemed to be irretrievably
lost. A leaf from one of them, however, has been recently
recovered by Canon Greenwell, and is described by Mr. Turner
in the Journal of Theological Studies, vol. x. 540-544. It was
picked up in a bookseller's shop at Newcastle.

It has been known for some time that in the library of
Lord Middleton at Wollaton, near Nottingham, there are ten leaves
of a Bible which have been supposed with great probability to
have belonged to this or to another of Ceolfrid's codices. They
are described in the Report of the Historical MSS. Conwiission
for igii^ 196 and 611. They once formed the covers for
chartularies of the Willoughby estates which were bound
not earlier than the reign of Edward vi. They consist, like
the Greenwell leaf, of parts of the Book of Kings, and agree
with the Greenwell leaf in their details.^ The publication of
these leaves, it is understood, has been undertaken by Mr.
Turner. It is a matter of regret that their publication has
been so long delayed, for the precious MS. is one of the first
moment to every one interested in Bible studies.

Some fragments of a codex also exist at Utrecht bound up
with the famous Utrecht Psalter. They consist of parts of
Matthew and John. Scrivener and Miller speak of them as
written in an Anglian hand strongly resembling that of the
Codex Amiatifius.'^ Mr. Kenyon says the fragments are written

1 See D. S. Boutflower, The Life of Ceolfrid, 1 14-116.

2 op. cit. ii. Zz.

APPENDIX V 33 3

in a hand closely resembling that of the A?matinus, and
evidently produced i?t the same scriptorium?- This points to the
Utrecht fragments having also come from one of the two sister
MSS. given by Ceolfrid to his two abbeys.

If, then, the Codex Amiatinus be traced to Italy and shown
to be directly derived from the famous pandect in nine volumes
prepared by Cassiodorus, it has a much higher title to our
reverence and confidence. We can now confidently affirm of one
of the volumes at Jarrow — namely, the Codex Graiidior — that
it represented very faithfully a text of the latter part of the
sixth century, and not later than 580 ; while the text of the
three pandects of the New Version also dated from the same
period and was prepared by one of the greatest scholars of the
time, who was possessed of much means and a very ample
library, and had devoted great pains to its preparation ; and
it is plain that by an analysis of the Codex Amiatinus we shall
ascertain what the Bible of Cassiodorus really was. It may
be, indeed, that this particular copy presented to the Pope was
in fact the Urtext or original mother MS. compiled by and
representing the syncretic notions of Cassiodorus himself.

Let us now shortly analyse the contents of the Codex
Amiatinus^ or, as we may call it, the Bible of Cassiodorus, omitting
the first eight leaves, which, as we have seen, were transferred
from another text.

On page 9, which has no title, we find St. Jerome's preface to
the Pentateuch, addressed to Desiderius. Then come the words
in larger letters which are gilt, Explic. Prolog. Incip. Capit, Lib,
Genes. Then follows Genesis in 63 chapters. The chapters are
generally divided into verses, which are shorter than those in the
usual editions. It ends with the words Explic. Lib. Gen.

On folio 50 we have Liber Exodi. L?tcipiu?it Capit, with 14
chapters: it ends with the words, Explic. ''^ LLellesmof^ id est
Exodus Feliciter.

On folio 86 we have Lncip. Capit. Levitici^ with 16 chapters.
At the end we read, Expliciunt Capitula. Lncipit liber Leviticus
qui hebraice dicitur ^'' vaiecra^^ Lege feliciter) and then, Epl,
Leviticus qui Hebraice dicitur '* Vaiecra. Lege"*^ felix.

On fol. no we have L?icipiunt capitula libri JVumerorum, with
'19 chapters. At the end, Explic. capit. Lncipit liber JVumerorum
qui appellatur LLebraice Vaieddaber Gloria i?idividuae trinitati
Amen.

1 Op. cit. 198.

334 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

On fol. 144 Deuteronomy commences without any title. Its
chapters are 20, and it ends with the words in uncials, Expliciunt
Cap it u la. Incipit liber Deuteronim hebraice dicitur " Helkad-
dabarimJ'^ Deo laudes ; Lege feliciter Amen. Or a pro me^ with
the letters arranged :

P

O R A
O
M
E

Fol. 174. The prologue to Joshua, after which come the
chapters of that book, numbering 10.

Fol. 194. The words Capitula Judicum\ then the chapters,
21 in number.

Fol. 215. The words Incipit Lib. Ruth^ with 4 chapters,
numbered in the margin.

Fol. 228. Jerome's prologue to "the Kings," headed
Praefatio Regnorum. Incipit brevis, with 90 chapters in a con-
tinuous numeration. Chapter xlvii. begins with a larger capital
than the other chapters, while its first word is written in
gold and with a gap as if beginning a new book. Then comes
another enumeration of chapters, one in 30 and the other in 24.

Fol. 275. Without any preface, there begin here the chapters of
the 3rd and 4th Books of Kings, 84 in number. At the end of
the 3rd book is the word Finis, which belongs properly to chapter
52. Here again we have a larger initial and a space, while all
the first verse is gilt.

The former two books are entitled at the tops of the pages
Samuhel, and the latter two Malachim, without any distinction
into first and second.

Fol. 329. The two books of Paralipomena, with the title and
the preface of St. Jerome ; between the two is a space and a
gilt capital. At the heads of the pages is the word Paralipo-
menon, without any distinction into two books.

Fol. 379. Without any title, comes the Book of Psalms, with
Jerome's preface addressed to Sophronios. Then the words
Psalmus David de Joseph dicit qui Corpus Christi sepelivit.

Fol. 419. The Proverbs of Solomon, with Jerome's preface,
in 30 chapters.

Fol. 437. The Book of Ecclesiastes, with 12 chapters.

Fol. 443. Liber Canticu??i Canticorutn, in 8 chapters.

Fol. 447. Sapientia or Wisdom, in 13 chapters.

APPENDIX V 3 35

Fol. 460. Jerome's preface to Ecclesiasticus, then the
chapters of the book, 26 in number. This book is larger in this
text than in the Vulgate. At the end we have the words, Liber
Ecclesiasticus Saiamonis.

Fol. 476. Isaiah, preceded by Jerome's prologue and the list
of chapters, 158 in number.

Fol. 536. Jeremiah, with Jerome's preface and ending with
the words, Explicit liber Hieremiae Prophetae. In the last chapter
are contained the four Lamentations and the prayer of Jeremiah.

Fol. 590. Ezekiel, with Jerome's prologue and the index of
chapters, no in number.

Fol. 633. Daniel bears the title, Incip. Lib. Danihelis Prop. ;
then follows, Praefatio beati Hierorimi^ followed by 3 1 chapters.
The book ends, et devorati sunt in monitnto coram es. A??ien.
Exp I. Danihel Prophet a.

Fol. 650. Then follow 12 Prophetae minores, preceded by
Jerome's preface. Then the Elenchus of titles, with the number
of chapters in each book. The order is Osea with 8 chapters,
Joel with 5, Amos with 10, Abdea with i, Jonah with 2, Micea
with 7, Naum with i, Abacuc with 3, Sofonia with i, Aggeo
with I, Zaccaria with 15, and Malachia with 3.

Fol. 682. Job with 36 chapters, ending Expliciunt Capitula
Job I Lncipit ipse liber feliciter.

Fol. 701. Tobias with prologue, without any division into
chapters.

Fol. 709. Judith, preceded by Jerome's prologue and with
the enumeration of 16 chapters.

Fol. 729. Esther, with its prologue and division into 16
chapters.

Fol. 730. The Book of Esdras, preceded by Jerome's preface
and forming only one book but divided into two parts, the first
of which begins, Ln anno primo Cyri^ etc. ; the second, after an
interval of 10 lines, in the middle of which in larger letters is
written Neemia^ the text commencing. Verba Nee77iiae. It ends
with the words Expl. Lib. Ezrae sive Nee7niae. It contains no
ancient enumeration of chapters. It will be noted as remarkable
that although Cassiodorus in the Codex Amiatinus follows the
old Latin Bible in his canon, he apparently fails to do so in
ignoring the First Book of Esdras and perhaps the Fourth.
This was doubtless due to the very ruthless language applied
to these books by Jerome, which seems to have overpowered the
judgment of the great scholar of Scyllacium.

336 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Fol. 750. The two books of Maccabees, the first with 61
and the second with 55 chapters, and ending with the words,
Expliciunt Machabeorum libri duo, Deo gratias Amen, felicitis qui
legis amen.

It seems quite plain from this list of contents that the mother
text from which the Codex Amiatinus and its two sisters were
copied was a codex written under the superintendence and
direction of Cassiodorus and was partially the result of his
syncretic work, and that it does not represent Jerome's un-
adulterated text at all. It is clear, in fact, that both in its list of
contents and also in the actual books it varies from Jerome's own
Bible. It contains several books treated by Jerome as un-
canonical, e.g. Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Tobias, Judith, and two
books of Maccabees. The most remarkable evidence that points
to the text of the Codex Amiatinus as it stands being other than
Jerome's text is to be found, however, in a comparison of its
contents with those of Jerome's actual text as it existed in the
library of Cassiodorus and as given in the 1 2th chapter of his
work already cited. It seems impossible, therefore, to claim the
Codex Amiatinus as a text of Jerome's version, much less as
the best existing type of that version. It is no doubt largely
based on Jerome's text, but it seems to me to be really a new
edition by Cassiodorus. This conclusion is very important when
we remember that the first Carlovingiau Bibles were so largely
dependent on it.

It is assuredly also a matter of high importance for the
criticism of the Latin Bible to realise that we have in the Codex
Amiatinus and in Bede's Biblical extracts samples of the Eclectic
Bible text accepted in the sixth century a.d. as the best critical
text available by the best Biblical scholar of that age, and it
greatly enhances the value and importance of Bede's quotations
from it.

May I add one further fact which strengthens the view that
in the Codex Amiatinus we may have the very copy of the New
Bible compiled by Cassiodorus which formed his critical text,
and not a mere copy of it made for Ceolfrid — namely, that at
the end of the prologue to Leviticus we have a barbarous Greek
inscription in the words :

KYRU :SEP|SANAOS AI nOIH0EN.

These words show that when he wrote them Serbandus or
Servandus, who was no Englishman but the Italian scribe of the

APPENDIX V 3 37

MS., was living in a part of Italy where Greek was still under-
stood, and this could only have been in the old land of Magna
Graecia in the extreme south of Italy. Bishop Browne says of
this entry " that it is by the same hand as the rest " : the separa-
tion of AI from IIOIHSEN (originally, perhaps, Hoiei) should
not be called a mistake, for we have here other examples of
spacing out so as to make one word into two.

Another thing occurs to me. Such enormous pandects as
these must have taken a long time to write, and could not have
been written during Ceolfrid's short stay in Italy. They must
either have been sent after him to England, or else, which is more
probable, there were copies of the very fine text of Cassiodorus,
which were kept for sale at the great scriptorium at Scyllacium.^

I may further add that in the library at Durham, B, ii. 30,
is a copy of the Commentary of Cassiodorus on the Psalms,
traditionally said to have been written by Bede.^ In an early
list of the Durham books it is referred to in the margin with the
words "Manu Bedae." This may also have been brought from
Scyllacium by Ceolfrid.

^ Professor White, who has read this paper, assures me that he only finds
one difficulty in accepting the view here maintained, namely, that it involves
Ceolfrid sending back to the Pope as a present what he had himself bought
in, and brought back from Rome. This does not seem to me so strange.
As I have shown in my history of St. Gregory the Great, perhaps no part of
the Mediterranean lands was at this time so poor in books as Rome and the
Roman territory. The libraries there had apparently been utterly destroyed,
and the great Pope, in writing to his correspondents, excuses himself for not
being able to lend them books because they were so hard to obtain in Rome,
and confesses that some very important ones could not be found there,
notably the great work of Tertullian, and even such necessary books as
authoritative copies of the Conciliar Canons. How likely would it be there-
fore, that when the great library at Scyllacium was broken up and dispersed,
some of its treasures having fallen into the hands of the book-loving monks
of Northumbria, one of them, Ceolfrid, who had secured treasures from that
source, should combine two of the great books to form a lordly volume to
place at the feet of the Pontiff his master, as the most valued gift he could
make him.

^ Plummer, Bede, i. xx, note 3.

VOL. III. — 22

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES

VOLUME I

Ixiii . . . 23.* — In regard to Bede's view of Purgatory, he
says : " Sunt qui de levioribus peccatis^ quibus obligati defunctt sunty
post mortem possunt absolvi ; vel poems . . . castigati, vel suorum
precibuSy eleemosynis^ missarum celebrationibus absoluti. " ^ Purga-
tory with him is only for the cleansing of lesser sins (x. 349 and
350; cf. vii. 355, V. 38i).2

Ixix . . . 28. — There is no question about the kind of cult
in which these relics had a part. They were not used merely to
recall the memory of the saints to whom they had once belonged,
but were themselves " adored or worshipped." Thus Bede, speak-
ing of the departure of Ceolfrid for Italy, says : " adorat crucem." ^
In the Anonymous Life the words are : " adorat ad crucem.^ St.
Ecgbert wished to go to Rome " ad videnda et adoranda beatorum
apostoloru?n et 7nartyrum Christi li??iina cogitavit. " ^ Of Benedict
Biscop, Bede said: ^^ beatorum apostolorum loca corporum cor-
poraliter visere atque adorare curavit^ ^ And, again, of Ceolfrid :
"j^ vidisse et adorasse recordans exultabat" Relics were deemed
essential to the due consecration of a church.

Ixxvi . . . 29. — On this subject Lingard writes : " During
this period the power of canonising saints was exercised by the
provincial bishops and national councils. The first instance of
a solemn canonisation by the Pope occurs in the year 993, when
John XV., after a diligent inquiry into the life and virtues of
Ulric, Bishop of Augsburg, enrolled him among the saints. It
was not till the beginning of the twelfth century that the
privilege of canonisation was reserved to the Holy See by
Alexander in. From that period to the accession of Clement

* These numbers refer to pages and lines of each volume.

^ Bede, 0pp. ^ ix. 96. 2 piummer's Bede, i. Ixvi, note 8.

^ Bede, Hist. Abb., ed. Plummer, p. 382. ^ lb. 398.

^ Bede, H.E., v. ch. 9. « Bede, Hist. Abb., p. 365.

339

340 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

XIII., in 1758, one hundred and fifteen persons had been
solemnly canonised." ^

At first, the Church of Rome admitted none but martyrs
into the catalogue of saints. From different calendars in
Muratori,^ it appears that the names of confessors were after-
wards introduced (but very sparingly), namely, those of St.
Silvester in the fourth, St. Martin of Tours in the sixth, and St.
Gregory in the seventh centuries. In the Collectarium we only
find the additional name of St. Benedict on the 5th of the ides
of July, " manifestly," says Lingard, " an interpolation after the
reported transport of his relics to Fleury. Neither is there a
single name of any British, Scottish, or Anglo-Saxon saint.
Thus, neither Aidan nor Cuthberht, though their festivals were
solemnly kept at Lindisfarne and Chester-le-Street, were in the
Collectarium^ nor were St. Augustine and St. Boniface ; although
a Gallic saint, St. Martin, occurs in it." Lingard thinks the book
just quoted belonged to the Abbey of St. Martin at Tours.^

Ixxxiii . . . 8. — There still remain two works which tradition
claims to have been in Bede's own handwriting. One of them
is a Durham MS., B, ii. 30, and is a copy of the commentary
of Cassiodorus on the Psalms, which has a marginal note in a
fourteenth-century hand claiming it as his handiwork.*

A second work is a fragment of St. Paul's epistles in the
Cottonian Collection, Vitell. C, viii. fol. 83. Wanley in his
Catalogue of Saxon MSS., 241, says he had seen a copy of St.
Paul's epistles written in the same hand, and then in the library
of Trinity College, Cambridge. He further says the Rushworth
copy of the Gospels was also reputed to have belonged to him.
Stevenson says of it : " All which we can assert is that the MS.
is certainly of Bede's time, and that the language in which it is
glossed is Northumbrian."^

Ixxxv . . . II. — Bede's greatest distinction was probably this
mention of him by Dante in his immortal work, where he puts
him next to Isidore in Paradise :

" Vedz oltre flamme^giar Pardente spiro
D' Isidore, di Bedar^

^ Lingard, Anglo-Saxon Church, ii. 89.

2 de reb. Litur., ch. iv. 27-33. ^ Op. cit. ii. 361 and 362.

^ See Pal. Soc. Irans., Plate 164.

^ Chti'ch Hist, of England, i. part ii. xxi.

^ Faraa., x. 130 and 131.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 341

In his letter to the ItaHan Cardinals, Dante speaks of Bede
as one of his subjects of study.^ It was no doubt from Bede he
derived some of the eschatology which he seems to have taken
over from Fursey, Dryhthelm, and others, as presented in Bede's
History. Gebhardt, Archbishop of Salzburg, writing in 1087,
says that Bede's homilies were in his time read annually in
Church. 2

Ixxxvii . . . 30. — According to William of Malmesbury, the
following lines were inscribed on his tomb at Jarrow :

^''Presbyter hie Beda requiescit came sepultus
Dona, Christe, animam in coelis gaiidere per aevum
Daqiie illi sophiae debriari fonie, cui ja?n
Suspiravit ovans intento semper amore.^^

When Bede's remains were translated by Bishop Hugh Pudsey
in 1 1 04, they were placed in a casket of gold and silver and
deposited in the Galilee in the cathedral which had been just
completed at Durham, and a new inscription was placed over
them, namely :

*' Continet haec iheca Bedae venerabilis ossa
Sensuni factori Christus dedit, aesque dafor,
Petrus opus fecit ; praesul dedit hoc Hugo donum^
Sic in utroque suum veneratus utrumque patronum.^^^

A second translation took place in 1370.*

In November 1541, Pudsey's shrine, together with Bede's
relics, were removed from Durham and destroyed. The stone
on which it stood still remains,^ and I have given a representation
of it.

Ixxxviii . . . 33. — The number of Latin authors known
to certain mediaeval writers must not be measured by their
quotations. The fact is, most of their knowledge was second-
hand. Wright says : " At Rome, the classical writers had long
ceased to be popular; for the zeal which often led the
Christians, in their estimation of the sentiment, into an in-
judicious depreciation of the language when adorned only by
its own beauties, had already condemned them to that neglect
under which many of them were perishing. Those which are
preserved we owe in a great measure to the grammarians who

^ Plummer, Bede, i. xli, note 4. 2 y^_ \\^ xlviii

^Stowe, Harl. MS., 367, fol. 75. ^ lb. fol. 76

^ See Stevenson, Bede, xx. and xxi.

342 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

flourished in the latter days of the Empire, such as Priscian and
Donatus, who by their continual quotations gave some of them
a certain value in the eyes of men who made those grammarians
an important part of their studies. It is almost solely in
grammatical treatises that we find these authors quoted during
the age which produced the principal Latin writers among the
Anglo-Saxons, although most of the Anglo-Latin poets were
continually endeavouring to imitate them." ^

xc . . . 17. — One reason given by Bede for writing his
commentaries w^as the great expense of the original works on
which they were based : " tam copiosa ut vix, ?iisi a locupletioribus
tot volumina acquiri. . . . valeant.^^^ He had himself suffered
from the need of books. Thus, in speaking of the Catena of
Paterius on the passages in St. Gregory's works from the Bible,
he says : " quod opus si haherefn ad mamis^ facilius multo . . .
studium meae voluntatis i77ipleren . . . veru7n . . . necdum illud
merui videreJ^ ^ Hence his desire to popularise the knowledge
which he had acquired ^^ut ad plurimos res ipsa pervetiiatT ^

Raine says of Bede's Biblical commentaries, that he could
not help thinking they were intended to be the text-books of
the Northumbrian province, and that they largely owe their
existence to Acca, who seems to have been his patron. Thus
it was to him that Bede dedicated a poem in hexameters on the
Day of Judgment, also his Hexameron and Commentary on St.
Mark's Gospel. Bede did not propose to write a similar one on
St. Luke, since St. Ambrose had already done so ; upon which
Acca urged him to do it, in a very pleasantly written letter, in
which he quotes both sacred and profane writers. A touch of
humour is apparent here and there. Thus in one place he says
to his friend, ^'' Beatum Lucam lucule?tto sernione expone.^^ In his
reply Bede assents to his request, and speaks of himself as being
his own dictator, notary, and librarian.^

xc . . . 18. — Bede's expository work is mainly allegorical.
This method was chiefly due to the influence of Origen, which
greatly affected a large part of patristic and mediaeval exegesis.
We see its beginning, however, in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Bede cites the latter as justifying his method : ^ " Vestigia ejus

"^ Biog, Lit.y 41. ^ Opera, vii. 1-2. ^ lb. ix. 388.

* Plummer, Bede, i. xxiii, note.

^ Acca's letter is printed at length in Raine's Hexham, pp. 33 and 34,
note.

« 0pp., vii. 175.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 343

sectantesJ^ " It rests on the belief that nothing in Scripture can
be without significance. Thus hours and places, names and
numbers are full of meaning. He uses the word sacrament to
mean not the outward sign of spiritual grace, but the inner and
spiritual meaning of an external fact, or narrative, or name. St.
Paul in 2 Cor. x. 1 1 (Vulgate) is specially quoted. Christ's
parables were meant to teach us to look below the surface of
things. Moses must have wished to give more than historical
information." I cannot resist quoting Mr. Plummer's illuminating
note on various examples of Bede's interpretation :

*' Here are some of these * leges allegoriae.^ A dove must
always signify the Spirit because of Luke iii. 22 {0pp. ^ ix. 336;
X. 178). Silver = the Word of God because of Ps. xi. 7 (viii.
380, 381 ; xi. 281, and seq.). Wood = the Gospel, for the Cross
was made of wood (viii. 295). Stone = the Law, because it was
written on tables of stone (viii. 295; x. 254; xi. 341, 375);
but it also meant hard hearts, because of Ezek. xxxvi. 26
(x. 345). A millstone = the wicked, because of Ps. xi. 9, ^in
circuitu iffipii a??ibuiant^ {x\\. 422), Thorns = sins; cf. Gen. iii.
18 (x. 238). A reed = Scripture, as written with a reed pen
(x. 239, 248). But it also = the carnal mind, because it is easily
deflected (xi. 47). Left and right mean respectively present
and eternal things, because of Prov. iii. 16, ^ Longitudo dierum
in dexter a etus, et in sinistra illiiis divitiae et gloria^ (x. 279).
The arm of God is the Son, because of John i. 3, ^ omnia per
ipsum facta sunt^ (x. 296 ; xi. 140). The finger of God is the Spirit,
Luke xi. 20, compared with Matt. xii. 28 (xi. 141). Most curious
of all: ^sputum {i.e. the spittle) . . . Do7?iini saporem designat
sapientiae, quae . . . loquitur: ^^ Ego ex ore Altissimi prodiui^^ ^
(Ecclus. xxiv. 5) (x. 112). Again: ^ Lutum de terra caro Christi
est. Sputum de ore^ diuinitas ejus est^ quia " caput Christi Deus " '
(i Cor. xi. 3) (x. 381). Other instances are these: Skins =
death (ix. 343; x. 9, 87, 349). Loins = succession, generation
(ix. 344; xii. 426). Fish = faith (x. 135). Sea = present world
(x. 67). Water = Spirit, but also = depth of intellect (xii. 441,
442). Mountain = the Devil (x. 181). A good deal of Bede's
symbolism is borrowed from the traditional natural history of
his time, e.g. the dove (v. 170, 174, 175; ix. 228, 243, 244;
cf. Ltft., App. Ff. II. iii. 390, 391) ; the stag (ix. 80, 238); the
goat (ix. 238, 240, 348) ; the fox (ix. 248) ; the elephant (ix. 316) ;
the eagle (xi. 61, 257); the cedar (ix. 230); the mulberry tree
(xi. 242); precious stones (xii. 437-447).

344 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

" But it is in dealing with numerals that this method reaches
its most elaborate results ; and here, too, Bede was following
Isidore, who wrote a special treatise on the numbers of Scripture
{Did. of Christ. Biog., iii. 309). Arator also influenced him
(Werner, p. 191; Sanday, u.s., pp. 35, 56). Thus: ^ = im-
perfection (vii. 235, 243). 2 = the two Testaments (vii. 305);
= Jews and Gentiles (vii. 308) ; = the love of God and the love of
our own neighbour (viii. 279) ; = mutual love (vii. 240 ; viii. 301).
But it also = division, discord, etc. (xi. ly'S). 3 = the Trinity
(vii. 312, 330); = heart, soul, and strength (vii. 312; x. 363);
= the theological virtues — faith, hope, charity (vii. 301, 314);
= the three evangelical virtues — almsgiving, prayer, fasting
(viii. 269); = Resurrection on the third day (viii. 422); =the
married, continent, and virgins (xi. 189); =the three continents
— Europe, Asia, Africa (v. 4 ; xii. 48). 4 = the Gospels (vii. 308,
314; cf. Sanday, u.s., pp. 309 ff.) ; =the four quarters of the
world (vii. 301, 308); =the four cardinal virtues — temperance,
fortitude, justice, prudence (vii. 269, 295; x. 399); =the four
elements (vii. 349) ; = the four seasons of the year, and the four
humours or elements of the body (vii. 430-431 ; viii. 351, comp. x.
363). 5 = the five books of Moses or the Law {0pp. ^ vii. 299;
viii. 353); =the five senses (vii. 301, 315; x. 357); =the five
ages of the world before Christ (viii. 353). 6 = perfection of work,
because God made the world in six days (vii. 253; viii. 48;
xii. 358). 7 = the Spirit and His sevenfold gifts (xii. 441, etc.);
= the Sabbath and rest (vii. 314); = penitence, because of the
seven penitential psalms (vii. 407), perfection or wholeness (vi.
268; vii. 383; xi. 61; xii. 340); but seven may also be treated
as 4 and 3 (viii. 351 ; x. 363; xii. 345). 8 = the Resurrection on
the eighth day of the week, which is also the first (vii. 314;
viii. 271). It may also mean the day of Judgment, because
it follows the seven days of the world's ages (viii. 319)."
9 is omitted by Mr. Plummer; I do not know why. "10 = the
Decalogue (vii. 362, etc.); =the name of Jesus, of which the
initial letter has this numerical value {ib.)] =the heavenly
reward and rest, because of the denarius^ which the labourers
in the Lord's vineyard received (vii. 313; viii. 9); but 10 = also
5x2 (viii. 353). 1 1 = transgression, because it is one beyond
the number of the Commandments (vii. 82 ; xii. 10, 417). 12 =
wholeness (v. 180). It also = 3 x 4 with their various interpreta-
tions (vii. 338-9; viii. 333, 421; ix. 334; x. 44; xi. 436).
50= jubilee, rest, remission (v. 78; vii. 312 and 313; viii. 298).

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 345

It also = the Pentecostal gift of the Spirit (vii. 316). The
larger the figures the greater the number of combinations.
For 15, see xi. 391 ; vii. no, 314. For 18, viii. 322 ; xi. 181-2.
For 20, see vii. 362-3, comp. 423. For 24, see xii. 356-7.
For 30, X. 356; xi. 67. For 40, vii. 108, 230; x. 13; xii. 136.
The sum of the component parts of 40 yields 50, from which
Bede deduces the lesson that the 40 days during which the
risen Saviour goes in and out among His disciples on this
earth lead to the jubilee of eternal rest (xii. 14). For 42, see x.
364. For 60, ix. 260, 334. For 70, xii. 340. For 75, vii. 157.
For 77, X. 363. For 80, ix. 334. For 84, x. 335. For 85, viii.
159. For 100, vii. 310, 311 ; X. 62 ; xi. 67. For 120, viii. 286 ;
xii. 10. For 144, see xii. 340, 367, 401, 437. For 300, x. 365.
For 318, vii. 173. For 365, vii. 89. For 888, x. 321. For
1000, viii. 113; ix. 383, For 1600, xii. 407."^

xcii . . . 40. — Bede secured additional materials after he
wrote the preface to his prose life of Cuthberht, which he did
not care to use at the time. In MS. Fairfax two additional
paragraphs, numbered 31 and 32, are added.^

xciv . . . 32. — In Werner's Beda der Ehrwurdige und seine
Zeit.^ pp. 121-49, the nature and importance of Bede's great
reform in dating are fully discussed. The new method was
not used in papal documents till the eleventh century. Bede's
motive in discussing the subject at length was, no doubt, to settle
the Paschal controversy.

xcix . . . 29. — Having finished his History in 731, Bede sent
a copy to King Ceolfrid for revision, and on its return he made
some alterations and then issued it as we have it, adding, first, the
prologue in the form of a letter to the King ; secondly, probably
the passage about Charles Martel's great victory in the Pyrenees ;
and, thirdly, the appendix containing notices about himself. This
was apparently all written in 732. The mention of himself in
the Historia Ecclesiastica^ in chapter 24, also points to the same
conclusion ; 732 was his fifty-ninth year, so that he was born in
674. This also agrees with Florence of Worcester.

ci . . . 9. — The chronological epitome which forms chapter 24
of the fifth book of the Historia Ecclesiastica is not alike in all the
MSS. Certain entries apparently occur only in some of them.
Among these are the notices under the years 538 and 540, both
relating to solar eclipses, and 547, dealing with King Ida. In
addition, we have three entries relating to Mercia dated in 675,
^ Plummer, Bede^ i. lix, note. ^ Vide 0pp. ^ MS., p. 4.

346 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

697, and 698, and one in 711 about the fight between Berhtfrid
and the Picts. In all these cases the entries have nothing
corresponding to them in the body of the Historia Ecclesiastica.

They all occur in the earlier editions of the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle, and it is therefore plain either that the author of the
latter used one of the copies in question ; or the entries in these
copies were interpolations taken from the Chronicle \ or thirdly,
that these copies and the Chronicle had a common source, both
of which latter hypotheses are unlikely.

cxi . . . 7. — A criticism of ^ddi's work in regard to its
merits as ain authority, by Mr. R. W. Wells, may be found in
the Eng. Hist. Review. It reached me after most of this work
was written. It was pleasant to find that we had arrived at
almost the same conclusions independently. It is a very good
piece of work.

cxii . . . 30. — The work was dedicated to Bishop Ecgberht
of Lindisfarne, who ruled that see from 802-820. In chapter
16 of the poem the author claims to have written another one
on the holy men of England, one of whom was the lector Hyglac :

* ' De quo jamdudum perstensis pauca relatu
Anglorufn de gente pios dufn carine quosdani
fam cleoini indoctus, vilisque per omnia scriptor.''^

cxiii . . . 23. — I here propose to give some short notices
of some of the lives of the saints which I have found useful in
the preceding work, and which I did not think sufficiently
important to put in the Introduction.

The Life of St. Oswald, composed by Reginald of Durham,
although a twelfth-century document, was written by a capable
and industrious person, who collected traditions and stories
assiduously. It has been well edited as a third appendix to
volume i. of the works of Symeon of Durham by Mr. T. Arnold in
the Rolls Series. Reginald also composed a life of St. Aebba
or Ebba, which amplifies Bede's notice of her. It is found in
the Acta Sanctorum, 25th August. A similar life of St. Oswy,
dating as it stands from the twelfth century, also contains some
traditional matter of interest. This Life was published by the
Surtees Society in its volume entitled Miscellanea Biographica.

Jocelyn, the famous eleventh-century biographer of saints,
produced more than one which I have found useful in the
preceding pages, e.g. a life of St. Mildred and an account of the
passion of the martyr princes Ethelred and Ethelberht, grandsons

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 347

of Eadbald, King of Kent. These Lives by Jocelyn were freely
used by Florence of Worcester and Symeon of Durham.

The life of St. /Etheldrytha by Thomas of Ely, forming
the first part of his compilation on the history of that monastery,
contains a good deal of local matter of interest ; an excellent
abridgment of it is contained in Anglia Sacra (Wharton).

A life of St. Eata, one of the pupils of St. Aidan, who became
prior of Hexham and afterwards of Lindisfarne, and was buried
near the presbytery at Hexham, is attributed to Ailred of
Rievaulx by Hardy, and is printed in the Aliscellanea Biographica
of the Surtees Society. It is of slight value.

A life of Erkenwald, Bishop of London, is printed by
Dugdale in his History of St. FauPs^ pp. 293-94. It has been
attributed to Jocelyn, but Hardy thinks it was composed by a
canon of that cathedral, nephew of Bishop Gilbert, who also
wrote an account of his miracles and translation about 1140.^

A life of St. Sexburga attributed to Jocelyn, and partly
based on an Anglo-Saxon one of which a fragment remains
(MS. Lambeth, 427), adds little or nothing to Bede's story.
It is printed in Capgrave's Nova Legenda Aurea!^

Folcard, who wrote the life of St. John of Beverley, also
wrote a biography of St. Botulf, which contains some notable
fables. It is printed in the Acta Sanctorum^ 17th June, iii. 402.

This life of St. Botulf shows from its prologue that it was
written in the eleventh or twelfth century.

St. Cuthburga, wife of Ealdfrid, King of Northumbria, and
afterwards the foundress of the Abbey of Wimborne, is not
named by Bede, but her story is told by Florence of Worcester
and William of Malmesbury. An account of her in MS.
Lansdowne, 436, fol. 38-41, is chiefly devoted to a dialogue
between her and her husband, whom she addresses as " super
modernos reges literaruin eruditus scientia " \ and to a sermon
addressed to her by her nuns.^

A life of St. Ecgwin, Bishop of Worcester, another saint
unmentioned by Bede, is preserved in the Cott. MS., Nero E, i.,
which is of the tenth or eleventh century, and is the chief
authority for his doings. It was composed by Brithwald, a
monk of Worcester. It was probably put together at the end
of the tenth or beginning of the eleventh century, and claims
to be founded on Ecgwin's own autobiography.*

^ Cat. Brit. Hist., i. 293 and 294. ^ lb. i. 360.

^ lb. i. 384. ^ 7(5. 415 ; also Anglia Sacra, i. 470.

348 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

cxxvi . . . 24. — It is curious that the only other document
said to have emanated from Adeodatus is also a letter addressed
to the Bishops of Gaul, declaring that though the Holy See was
not wont to exempt monasteries from episcopal control, yet as
the Bishop of Tours had himself exempted the monastery
of St. Martin, he would confirm the exemption of this house
from the jurisdiction of the Ordinary. This document has been
accepted by that very credulous and unsafe guide Pagi, but
has been generally rejected by French scholars.

cxl . . . 30. — By an inadvertence I overlooked mentioning
in the Introduction a charter professing to be granted by
Chlothaire (Leutherius), Bishop of the West Saxons, to Aldhelm
the priest. As it is dated on August the 26th, 670, by the
Incarnation, it is clearly marked out as spurious. It is written
in very inflated Latin. The grantor styles \{\'a\'E>&\{ ^^ Leutherius
pontificatus Saxoniei gubernacula regens,''^ and recites that he had
been asked by the abbots presiding over the monasteries in his
diocese {parochia) to make the gift for the purpose of enlarging
the monastery. The place so granted was called " Maldumes-
burg " {i.e. Malmesbury), where, it says, Aldhelm had spent his
infancy and learnt his early lessons. It was professedly signed
near the river Bladon, and is attested by Leutherius {sic), as
Bishop, Cunuberhtus the Abbot, Haedde the Abbot, and others.
Dr. William Wright in his Biog. Brit., i. 212-213, has dissected
this charter and shown how impossible it is to trust it. It
is rejected by Kemble, who numbers it xi. ; Birch numbers

it 37.

cxlv . . . 25. — A second deed which I overlooked is
marked 45 by Kemble (who rejects it) and 100 by Birch, and
consists of the confirmation of a grant by King Ini to Abbot
Hean of lands at Bradanafel and Bestlesforda, at Stretlee and
yEaromundeslee, with the consent of Archbishop Brihtwald {i.e.
Beorhtwald) and Bishop Daniel. It is dated by the Incarnation
in the year 687, which is of course impossible, and is witnessed
by King Ini of Wessex, ^thelred, King of Mercia, by /Ethelfrith,
and Bishop Daniel. Winberht signs it as the scribe of the
document.

4 . . . 16. — In the Vita S. Osivaldi it is suggested that
Cadvan arranged a marriage for his son Caedwalla with Oswald's
sister.^

^ Appendix to Sym. of Durham^ ed. Arnold, i. 345.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 349

4 . . . 17. — Haethfeldt has been identified with Hatfield
Chase, north-east of Doncaster. " Robert Talbot, the sixteenth-
century annotator of MS. C of the Chrofiicle^^ says Plummer,
" tells us ' it was in ye forest off Shyrwode,' i.e. Sherwood, which
is now to the south of Doncaster, but may then have extended
farther north. Nennius and the Ann. Ca?nb. both call this battle
the battle of Meicen.''^ ^dwin, having died when fighting
against the heathen, was deemed a martyr {martyrio coronatus).^
His day in the calendar is October 4th, a mistake, says Plummer,
probably due to the omission of id (for " iduum ").

5 . . . 26. — The same work says that Oswald's mother,
Acha, was a Christian, which is very probable, since she was
a sister of St. yf^dwin, and suggests that he was first taught
Christianity by her, and only completed his education in
Ireland, whither she went with her sons. There Oswald also
learnt the Irish language, " linguam Scottorum perfecte didicit et
fidei documenta quae prius a matre Christiana perceperat gentis
alius credulae eruditione solidavit^ et lavaero sacri baptismatis
purificatus.^'' ^

6 . . . 29. — Tighernach speaks of Eanfrid having fought a
regular battle, and says that afterwards he was beheaded : " Cath
la [^praelium per] Cathlo?i et Anfraith qui decollatus est." ^

19 . . . 4. — Not only were the principal ecclesiastics for
the most part of good family, but in the Scotic monasteries
the abbatial succession was generally confined to the clan of the
founder.^

25 . . . 25. — Todd, in his Life of St. Patrick, tells us the
Bishop of Aquino was under the Abbot of Monte Casino. A
bishop also resided in a monastery at Sinai. ^

40 . . . 25. — Reginald of Durham in his Vit. Oswaldi calls
special attention to this breach of Catholic usage.'' He spells
the name of the princess Kyneburga.^

48 . . . 25. — ^Ifwine is styled rex by yEddi, and it is
possible he reigned as sub-knig of Deira under his brother
Ecgfrith.

50 . . . 24. — In the Vit. Oswaldi Maserfield is put at
Shrewsbury (Scropesbyri).^

^ Plummer, Bede^ ii. 115 and 116. ^ Vit. Oswaldi, S. of D., i. 341.

^ lb. i. 341. ^ Plummer, Bede, ii. 121.

^ See Stewart's Preface to the Book of Deor.

« Bright, 157. 7 Op. cit. 342 and 343.

« lb. 349. » lb. 353.

3 so GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

54 . . . 7. — A Norman writer quoted by Camden, Britt. iii.
234, says :

" Quis fuit Alcides {Hercules)? quis Caesar Julius? aut guts
Magnus Alexander? Alcide se super asse.
Fertur ; Alexander mundum, sed Julius hostem,
Se simul Osualdus et mundum vicit et hostem.''^

55 . . . II. — In Adamnan's Life of St. Columba Oswy is
called " regnator Saxonicus." ^

55 . . . 16. — In the Life of St. Oswald 2i miracle is reported of
the king as occurring before his death. We are told that he was
attacked by a dire disease, apparently the plague, and when he
was lying very ill three angels visited him as a deputation from
the choir in heaven, who told him that Christ had heard his
prayer and those of all the Anglian people, and had freed him
from the death summons {de istius cladis peste absolutum liber-
avit). Reginald says he had taken this account from a very old
book in the Anglian tongue which he had translated into Latin. ^

55 . . . 18. — Reginald, in fact, calls him St. ^dwin.

58 . . . 24. — By Alcred he means Alchfrid, son of Oswy,
King of Northumbria.

59 . . . 19. — The remains of St. Oswald were supposed to be
specially potent in curing the disease which had nearly killed
him when king. ^'' Nam frigescentes artus pauperu??i opibus et
indumentis refovebat^ et dolorum uredinem ta7?i in pauperibus quam
in divitiis affluentibus suam fore reputabat.^''^ In the Harleian
MS. of the Life a Durham monk of the beginning of the
sixteenth century adds the note, " Uredo est corruptio veniens a
vento virente, qua segetes videntur adustae in agro^ *

60 . . . I. — The appearance of the head, the hand, and arm
of St. Oswald are described in great minuteness by Reginald in
his Life of the saint above cited, and occupies four chapters,
namely, 51, 52, 53, and 54.^ The details are worthy of a pro-
fessed anatomist, and he deduces the nature of the death-blow
from the condition of the bones of the neck : " quod ictus gladii
ferientis non in obliquo^ spiculatore truculento feriente devia?ido,

demerserit^ sed magis vibrafitis viribus linealiter i?t directo tramite
secando permeaverit" ^

64 . . . 8.— Leland says " the Priory " of St. Oswald at

^ Op. cit.y ed. Fowler, 11. ^ j/^V. Oswaldi^ 348 and 349.

^ Vit. Oswaldi, 369. * lb. note.

'^'^. 379-381. ^ lb. 381.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 351

Gloucester stood north-north-west from Gloucester Abbey upon
** Severne ripe," i.e. on the banks of the Severn.^

70 . . . 18. — Miss Arnold-Forster in her work on the dedica-
tions of English churches adds considerably to my list of those
connected with St. Oswald. She says that, including double
dedications, they number seventy-two, and gives a list.^

74... 14. — Oidilwald is the Northumbrian form of the
Wessex ^thelwald.

79 . . . 2. — Oswin's thorpe was, according to Thoresby's Leeds^
108, the royal residence in Loidis.

80 . . . I. — On this place see the note in vol. i. pp. 154-155.
80 . . . 10. — A "comes^^ was one of the bodyguard or comitatus

of the prince, and it was an especially heinous offence for such a
one to be a traitor.

85 . . . 21. — According to Miss Arnold-Forster, the only
church now dedicated to St. Oswyn is that of Wylam.

94 . . . 8. — St. Aidan's establishment at Lindisfarne was
entirely monastic, and there were no secular clergy there. Thus,
in referring to him, Bede in his Vit. Cuth.^ cap. 16, says : ** U^ide
ab illo omnes loci ipsius Antistites usque hodie sic episcopale exercent
officium^ ut regente monasterium Abbate^ quern ipsi eum consilio fra-
trum elegerintj omnes presbyteri, diaconi, cantores, leciores, ceterique
gradus ecclesiastici monachicam per omnia cum ipso Episcopo
regulam servent."

It is difficult to decide exactly between Lindisfarne and
Fame Island in regard to which was entitled to the British name
Medcaut, Irish Medgoet or Inis Melgoit, as Tighernach calls it.
Nennius says distinctly, ^^ Sanctus Cudbertus episcopus obiit in
insula Medcaut.^^^ Bede says he died in "insula Fame,"* but
elsewhere the Irish writers seem to understand Lindisfarne by
Medgoet.

Miss Arnold-Forster reports the following churches in
England as dedicated to St. Aidan : Bamburgh, Benwell,
Blackhill, Boston, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Harrington, Leeds,
Liverpool, Newbiggin, South Shields, Thorneyburn, and VValton-
le-Dale.5

Bishop Forbes in the Kalendars of Scottish Saints says of his
memorials in Scotland : "The churches of Cambusnethan and of
Menmuir were dedicated to the saint. Near to the latter

^ Itin.^ ed. L. Smith, ii. 62. ^ Op, cit. iii. 433.

3 M.H.B., 76. ^ H.E., iv. 29.

^ Studies in Church Dedications, iii. 321.

3 5 2 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

church is St. Iten's Well, celebrated for the cure of asthma and
cutaneous diseases. In the immediate vicinity is Gome's Well,
no doubt named after his successor, St. Colman. At Fearn is
Aidan's Well." i

94 . . . 28. — Prior Wessington says that King Edmund gave
them to Glastonbury.2

113 .. . 23. — When Fursey arrived in East Anglia, Algeis,
with Corbican and his servant Rodalgus, went on to Corbei
and thence to Laon, while Foillan, Ultan, Goban, Dicuil, Etto,
and Madelgisilus remained behind with Fursey.

In adding some additional notes on the famous "seer," I
cannot avoid a quotation from my charming friend the late T.
Hodgkin, recaUing Dante, another great seer : " Men in Florence
said when they saw this poet pass, ' That man has been in hell.' "

It is curious what a fascination the Irish hermits then exer-
cised on the popular imagination on this side of the Irish
Channel. Thus, Bede tells us he had seen some people who
had been bitten by serpents and were cured by drinking water
into which scrapings of the leaves of books that had been brought
out of Ireland had been put.^ Green picturesquely describes
the result of their handiwork as " creating a wild tangled growth
of asceticism which dissociated piety from morality." *

114. . . 18. — This castle is now known as Burgh Castle,
where, as Miss Stokes says, Sigfred no doubt met the Bur-
gundian Bishop Felix, from whom he doubtless learnt much
about France and the Irish missions there.

115 .. . 10. — In the Lives of the Irish Saints, edited by Lord
Bute, ex codice Salmanticensi, we are told that St. Fursey while
in Ireland ordained three brothers as priests, namely, Algeis,
Etho, and Goban, who accompanied him to England and after-
wards went to France, where they became the patron saints of
the towns — St. Algise, St. Gobian, and Avesnes.

My old friend Miss Margaret Stokes wrote an interesting
account of the existing memorials of the saint in Ireland.
Besides the foundations of the church at Inchiquin are the ruins
of Fursey's monastery. It is now called Kill-arsagh, formerly
Killfursa.^ Near it is a weir called Colla Fursa, or the Weir of
Fursey. (Of this she gives a picture.) Near the church is a pillar
stone with a rude cross and circle incised on it, which is said

» Op. cit. 269. 2 M.H.B., 203.

^ Op. cit. ; H.E., i. ch. i. ■* Making of England, 317.

^ Miss Slokes, Three Months in the Forests of France, 136.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 353

to be good for rheumatism. The " townland " to the north-east
is still named after Fursey's father, Fintan, namely, Ard Fintan
or Caher Fintan. The church stands in a large burial-ground on
a slight eminence with the trees of Ower Park behind it to the
north, and the long range of mountains rising over Lough Mask
to the north-west. " There are some later inserted windows, but,"
says Miss Stokes, " we could find nothing to prove that the walls
were not all original and of very great antiquity. The west
doorway is a good example of the primitive Irish style, with
horizontal lintel and inclined jambs. The lintel is of rough
calcareous limestone and measures 3 feet in length and 2 in
width. There are slit windows in the south wall, one over the
other, both showing a very wide internal splay. At the east end
there are four recesses at each side of the altar, and one in the
north and another in the south wall. A round arched recess,
now falling into ruin, beside the altar is another feature in the
north wall. This was once probably filled by a tomb, which
has now disappeared.

" The interior of the church proper, not including the western
chamber, is 55 feet in length and 20^ in width in the middle,
but narrows gradually towards the west door ; there is, in fact,
no regularity in the ground plan, nor a single right angle in the
building. This is due to the irregularities of the ground. There
is neither transept nor chancel, and only a western chamber or
galilee. It is 19 feet wide and 9 feet long, and is enclosed
by a door in a line with the west door of the church. It was,
apparently, a two-storied chamber, thus accounting for two slit
windows, one over the other, in the south wall. Such a chamber
exists in the church dedicated to the four beautiful saints,
Fursa, Brendan, Berchann, and Conall, situated at Aranmore,
and we know St. Fursa visited the Aran Islands before founding
the church of Killfursa. Both these churches are built with
grouting and with undressed stone." Miss Stokes suggests that
this singular western addition was allotted to penitents, and also
used as a place in which to deposit bodies previous to their
internment, while the upper room became a muniment room.^

Besides this large church, which was doubtless attached to

Fursey's monastery, there is an earlier and smaller building at

Cross, in Mayo, which was probably the saint's oratory when he

was living a solitary life. It stands near the village of Cross,

two miles from Cong. The greater part of the east wall and

^ Miss Stokes, Three Months in the Forests of France ^ 141-142.
VOL. III. — 23

3 5 4 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

the window in the south wall remain, but three corbels formerly
there have disappeared, while a carved figure mentioned by Sir
Wm. Wilde is now in a stable wall of a deserted house close by.^

Near Dundalk there is a memento of the saint in a second
church called Killfursa.^

Dr. Graves, the Bishop of Limerick, has called attention to
what he considers the remains of a school frequented by students
in a group of ancient cells in Corkaguiny, in Kerry, where he
read on one of two sculptured stones the name of Finlog,
probably the grandfather of St. Fursey, so called, and on the other
the Anglo-Saxon name Eadfrith, both written in oghams.^

ii6 . . . I. — St. Fursey is said to have landed at Mayoc,
at the mouth of the Somme, near Le Crotoy, and travelled
through Picardy, where a plain formerly called Fors-hem pre-
served his name. It is now called Frohens-le-Grand, and it has
a chapel called La Chapelle de St. Fursey, and his holy well.'*
After some adventures he reached Peronne, where he was
hospitably received by Erchenwald, and eventually settled among
the secluded meadows of Lagny on the Marne, near Chelles,
where Queen Bathildis had built her famous nunnery and where
Fursey himself built a monastery with three attached chapels,
one of which was called after him.^ Bishop Eligius, who trans-
lated his remains to a new shrine, was the famous goldsmith
bishop generally known as St. Eloi, of whom I have said a good
deal later on in the text.

1 16 . . . 24 — The name is really " Le mont des Cignes," mean-
ing Hill of the Swans. In the life of St. Cuanna (Colgan A. A.
MSS., Feb. 4th) is a story in which we read that while that saint
was once presiding over a conference of 1746 holy men in Fursey's
old foundation at Lough Corrib, a bell was seen in the air moving
like a bird, and suspended over their heads. To the surprised
assembly Cuanna explained that the bell belonged to St. Fursey,
who had sent it as a token that he longed to be with them.*'

The Abbey of St. Fursey at Peronne, founded by the saint,
kept up its ties for a long time with Ireland. In the Annals of
the Four Masters, undev the year 774 we read: " Moinan, son

* Miss Stokes, Three Months in the Forests of France , 145.
""lb. 153-

' Trans. Roy. Irish Acad.\ xxvii. 31, and iii. part ii. ; Miss Stokes, op.
cit. 152.

* Miss Stokes, op. cit. 104-105, 175, and 177.

" lb. 102, note 109-110. « lb. 102, note.

CORRPXTIONS AND NOTES 355

of Connar, Abbot of Cathair Fursa in France, died." One of the
gates of Pdronne is still called Porte de Bretagne ; the town
also has its Faubourg Bretagne. It is noteworthy that in its
church was buried, on the 7th of October 929, one of the most
forlorn of rulers, namely, Charles, styled the Simple, King of
France. This old church was entirely destroyed at the Reforma-
tion, and the only things preserved were the relics of the saint,
which remain there and are labelled " Sacrae Reliquiae Sanct,
Fursaci Urbis Perone^isis Patron." ^

At Lagny there are still the remains of the abbey founded by
the " Mayor of the Palace," Erchenwald, in honour of the saint,
and the ruins of the church still preserve his name. It was long
presided over by Irish abbots and became a nursery of saints. ^

"The memory of St. Fursey," says Miss Stokes, "is still
honoured in the Irish Calendar of CEngus, the Martyrology of
Donegal, the Martyrology of Tallaght, the Martyrology of Marianus
O'Gorman, the Martyrology of Christ Church, Dublin, in the
Annals of Ulster and the Chronica Scotorum, and in the Kalendars
of Scottish Sai?its" ^

In the Martyrology of Holy Trinity, Dublin, it is said of St.
Fursey that his office was celebrated with nine lessons, and he is
inscribed in the Carlovingian litanies under seven different dates.

The famous banner of Peronne, which was sadly damaged at
the Revolution, is still preserved in the Hotel de Ville of the
town. On it St. Fursey is represented in the clouds sustaining
the citizens in the famous siege of 1536. The chasuble and
stole of the saint were formerly preserved at Lagny.

When he left Suffolk for France, Fursey, we are told, be-
queathed his girdle to his monks, who are said to have folded
some locks of his hair in it and then covered it with gold and
precious stones and applied it for the cure of the sick.^

His attributes in art are a crown and sceptre ; at his feet an
angel, two oxen crouching, and occasionally a springing fountain.^

In a work by Guilhermy on the inscriptions of France from
the fifth to the eighteenth centuries there is a description of an
inscription on the great bell at St. Peter's of Lagny, with which
St. Fursey had to do. It reads : ^^J^ai etc benite et no7nmee Furcy"
It is dated 1669; while among the relics recorded as being in
the church in 1018 was a bone of St. Eloi, who was styled on its
label, " Disciple de St. Furcy." The fountain in the middle of

^ Miss Stokes, op. cit. 192. ^ lb. 202. ' lb. 259 and 260.

* lb. 263. 5 lb. 104. « lb. 264.

3 56 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

the town is also said to have been the original well of
St. Fursey.i

121 .. . 2. — It was reported that he was buried in the
Priory, the ivy-covered remainder of the successor of which
remains at Blyborough. His tomb is still pointed out on the
north side of the neighbouring church at Broad.^

121 .. . 4. — I am not now so sure about this, which is
the generally received opinion. Bede nowhere tells us who
Heresuitha married. He merely says she was the mother of
Aldwulf and does not say who was his father. Florence of
Worcester is our earliest authority for making him the son of
^thelhere, and he wrote in 11 16. It is more likely that he was
the son of Anna (for ^Ethelhere was a pagan), and, further, that
Heresuitha was, in fact, Anna's wife.

121 .. . 7. — The ^(967-^ <?/"^/>^ says that Anna was first buried
at Blideburge {i.e. Blythburgh, in Suffolk), and then removed to
Bedrichsworda {i.e. Bury St. Edmunds), adding, ^^ ubi et Jurmanus
filius, ad Bedrichsuordam translatus." ^

Plummer says Wihtred's accession must be put in October, 690.

123 .. . I. — It has been suggested in the Acta Sanctorum^
Feb. 2, 180, that ^thelfleda was the natural daughter of Oswy
and full sister of King Aldfred.

128 .. . 27. — According to Nennius the treasure of Judeu
was exacted by Penda from Oswy, who distributed it among the
British princes, his allies.

132 . . . I. — Dr. Bright says of Penda: "There is a sort of
weird grandeur in the career of one who in his time slew five
kings and might seem as irresistible as fate."*

134 .. . 28. — It is well to remember that the first five
bishops of Mercia were Celtic monks.

137 . . . 26. — Miss Arnold-Forster enumerates sixty-six
churches dedicated to St. Botulf, or St. Botolph as he is some-
times called, of which four are in the city of London. It was
reported of him ^ that when he asked the King to give him land
he begged that it might be " waste " and not be taken from his
royal demesne. He is named among the presbyter abbots in
the Liber Vitae of Durham.

^ Miss Stokes, op. cit. 203.

^ See St. Edmund^ King and Martyr^ by the Rev. J. P. Mackinley,
O.S.B., 16.

3 M.H.B., 190, note k. ^ Op. cit. 145.

•* See Mabillon, iii. 5, and William of Malmesbury, 133.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 357

138 .. . 27. — Apropos of this, it must not be forgotten
what a part the monks and hermits had in reclaiming the
wilder districts of Northumbria, which civilisation and social
life had as yet not visited at all. Green poetically describes the
process in a single paragraph : *' It broke the dreary line of
the northern coast with settlements which proved forerunners
of some of our busiest ports. It broke the silence of waste
and moor by houses like those of Ripon and Laestingham,
and it set agricultural colonies in the depths of vast wood-
lands, as at Evesham or Malmesbury, while by a chain of
religious houses it made its way step by step into the heart
of the fens."i

138 .. . 6. — Green says the kings of Essex probably dis-
carded their Christianity and their dependence on Kent at the
same time.^

141 .. . 12. — Cedde and Ceadda have been often con-
founded in practice. Against this Fuller quaintly protests in the
phrase, " Though it be pleasant for brothers to live together in
unity, yet it is not fit that by error they should be jumbled
together in confusion."

161 .. . 30. — Cudda occurs as the second name in the list
of abbots in the Liber Vitae.

163 .. . 10. — Green reminds us that Benedict was then
twenty-five and Wilfrid seventeen.

185 .. . 28. — Stevenson points out that a pressing reason
for holding the Synod at this time, rather than a year later, was
that the next year, 665, there would have been a whole week
between the Roman and the Celtic Easter days.

186 .. . 16. — The presence of Bishop Cedde at the Synod
of Whitby does not contravene this statement, since he was
probably there as Abbot of Laestingham in Yorkshire.

187 . . . 26. — ^ddi, with his usual inaccuracy, calls Colman
^^ Eboracae civitatis episcopus metr opo lit anus y Perhaps this was a
suggestion of Wilfrid's.

188 .. . 25. — It is strange that Agilberht, who had been a
bishop in Wessex for some time, should not have been able to
expound the orthodox view of Easter himself, for his name shows
he belonged to a cognate race to the English.

196 .. . 4. — It is curious that Bede's two chapters deal-
ing with this most important Synod of Whitby are left out in
the Anglo-Saxon version, nor are they mentioned in the
^ Making of England, 347. 2 /^^ 299.

3 5 8 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Capitula. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also entirely ignores the
synod.

204 . . . 27. — Among the presbyters mentioned in the Z/^^r
Vitae of Durham is a certain Tydi, by whom this Tuda is
probably meant. Miss Arnold-Forster mentions a St. Tudy
among the dedications of English churches.

213 .. . 3. — This shows that the West Welsh of Cornwall
and Devon were much more friendly to the English than the
Welsh of Wales.

222 . . . 24. — Alchfrid is named in the Liber Vitae im-
mediately after his brother King Ecgfrid, and in it is followed
by another brother ^Ifwine, who was killed in a battle in Mercia.

225 .. . 18. — Bede was, like other historians, by no means
free from mistakes. He was, in fact, human.

306 . . . 18. — The actual day of Theodore's arrival was
27th May, which in 669 was a Sunday.^ It was the anniversary
of the day on which he had set out.^

323 .. . 9. — It has been generally supposed that Agilberht
on leaving Wessex went direct to Northumbria. This appears
unlikely. He would seem rather to have first gone abroad, and
probably went to Rome. When he presently attended the Synod
of Whitby he probably did so as a representative of the Pope,
and it is very likely that he was attended by Agatho as his
assessor. As I have argued, this Agatho seems according to all
probability to have been the person of the same name who
presently became Pope. After the Synod Agilberht returned to
France and became Bishop of Paris, and was accused of being
the partisan and abettor of the worst acts of Ebroin, the major-
domo, yet, says Plummer, he ranks as a saint.^

329 . . , 20. — The Hecanas are a somewhat ambiguous
people. Their territory was probably coincident with the
county of Hereford. Florence of Worcester identifies them
with the Magesaetas.'* Kemble treats the latter as a section of
the Hecanas.^

334 . . . 2. — Hugo Candidus, the historian of the Abbey
of Peterborough, says that Saxwulf, having founded several
monasteries, left the parent house in the care of a monk called
Cuthbald. Cuthbald had founded a monastery with hermits'

^ Plummer, Bede^ ii. 205. " ^ Op. cit. ; H.E., iv. ch. i.

8 Bede, ii. 203. -* M. H. B. , 62 1 .

^ Hist, of the Saxons, i. 80, 150; Stubbs's Constitutional History of
England, i. 198 ; Bright, 207.

CORRECTIOxNS AND NOTES 359

cells (cu7n hercmiticis celhilis) at a place called Ancarig, afterwards
Thorney, in Cambridgeshire.^

337 . . . 17. — Plummer argues that Ecgfrid came to the
throne in February 671, and not in 670, as has been thought.^

355 . . . 24. — It will be remembered that Theodore him-
self did not adopt this argument, but bases his objection to
St. Chad's previous consecration on some fault in the form of
consecration.

357 .. . 18. — Miss Arnold-Forster enumerates forty-five
churches dedicated to him.^ She also mentions three parishes
called after him, namely, St. Chad, Chadkirk, and Chadwell
Heath. One of the townships in Rochdale parish in Lancashire
is called Chadwick.

361 .. . 22. — In enumerating the virtues of St. Chad, Bede
mentions one which I have omitted by mistake, thinking that
" castitas " and " conti?ientia " were a duplication of the same idea,
but, as Mr. Plummer points out, ^^castitas^^ or ^Uastus^^ was used
by Bede as meaning not chastity but purity from error, that is,
orthodoxy.^

364 . . . 6. — Even ^ddi, who was an almost unscrupulous
partisan of Wilfrid, speaks of St. Chad, whom he deems a usurper,
as ^^ servum Dei religiosissimum et admirabile?n doctorem.^'' ^

365 . . . 23. — There has been much exaggeration about the
schools supposed to have been introduced by Augustine and his
monks. We have no right to suppose that they had any other
ideals than those of their master, Gregory, and he, we know,
despised secular learning and entirely disapproved of the clergy
teaching it. A notable example of his views on this subject is
embodied in his very querulous letter to the Bishop of Vienne.^
Perhaps a better proof of the same prejudice is to be found in
the astounding fact, as I have pointed out in his Life, that with
all his opportunities the great Pope should never have taken
the trouble to learn Greek, in which the best thought of the Old
World was enshrined, and in which nearly all the theology of the
earlier centuries of the Church was written.

We may be sure that his influence in these matters, at all
events in Italy, was deplorable and widespread, and that his
monks from St. Andrew's Monastery were deeply imbued with his
retrograde views. We have no reason to believe that they were

^ Op, cit. 292 and notes. ^ Op. cit. ii. 358.

^ Op. cit. iii. 345. •* Bede, ii. 199,

•^ Ch. 14. ^ See Hovvoith, Gregory the Great ^ 177.

36o GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

in any sense learned men. All that the Pope demanded from
his pupils and proteges was sufficient learning for them to be
able to read the Scriptures, the service-books, and the lives of
saints, and to explain the elementary dogmas of the Christian
faith ; and, secondly, to be able to chant the psalter. We do
not read anywhere of his patronage of libraries and schools,
except choir schools. And we may be sure that his missionaries
to England were in these matters even less enlightened than
their master. Augustine's interrogatories to the Pope are a
good proof of it. The only teaching traditionally associated
with them and their scholars at Canterbury, Dunwich, and
York was that which was preparatory to a clerical life, and the
schools they alone founded, so far as the evidence goes, were
seminary schools, and schools for teaching choir-boys and men.
There is no evidence that at this time boys who were to have
lay careers were ever taught in these schools. We have no
reason to suppose that the Roman monks in England, until a later
time, could communicate with their scholars without interpreters.
They had no other language than Latin, and they prebably
despised the vernacular. It was very different with the Irish
missionaries, who presently lighted a great lamp in Northumbria,
and who came from a country then all aflame with zeal for
learning as well as religion. It would require a generation
before English boys could, under these conditions, be adequately
provided with teachers, and this perhaps accounts for no
Englishman having become an Archbishop of Canterbury for a
whole century.

It was not Augustine, but Wilfrid, Benedict Biscop, and
Ceolfrid who first introduced the theories and discipline of
the Benedictine Order into England, who, first among the
champions of the Roman See, introduced letters and culture, in
a real sense, into England, and it was still later that Theodore
and Hadrian introduced true learning. The inspiration and
training of the two latter was not Italian, where the arts and
humanities were well-nigh dead. One came from Asia Minor
and the other from Africa, where the influence of Gregory had
not operated to blight all yearning for knowledge and culture in
favour of mere pietism. Their theories were the antipodes of
those of the author of the Dialogues. They came well endowed
with the finest instrument available for producing learned men,
namely, the Greek language, which opened the gateway to the
best thought mankind had hitherto garnered, and they founded

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 361

a most notable school of learning in England which was for a
while unmatched elsewhere.

Their task was a hard one, for the work had virtually to be
started from the beginning. In France and Spain the old
Roman tradition, although sadly shattered, had gone on
continuously, and the old Roman city schools had gone on
without a real break. The one thing which had disappeared, as
it had gone in Italy and also in Spain, was a knowledge of Greek,
otherwise the evidence goes to show that the teaching there was at
this time little changed from that of the later Imperial time. In
England this was entirely different. There was possibly a certain
trace of Roman tradition in the municipal and administrative
methods employed here, but this did not extend to schools.

383 . . . 29. — Florence says: " Wigornia during the time
when the Britons and Romans reigned in Britain was and still is
the famous metropolis of all Hwiccia and Magesetania. . . .
It was now {i.e. when the Bishopric of Wigornia was founded)
decked {decoratd) with high walls and fortifications {niuris et
moe7iibus) and was much fairer and more sublime (clarior atque
sublimior) than in his day." ^

VOLUME II

26 . . . 26. — Somner identified Cloveshoe with Rochester.^
Although it was especially fixed as the meeting-place of synods,
we do not find that Theodore's two synods met there, unless
Herutford was deemed to be virtually the same place.

29 . . . 19. — It is well to note the exact words used :
^^ Nonum capitulum i?i C077i77iune tractatn77i est. Ut plures episcopi.^
cresceTite 7iu77iero fideliu77i augereTitur ; sed de hac re ad praesens

Stlm77lUS."^

31 . . . 28. — Coinwalch's alleged brother, Edelwine, or
Ethelwine, was venerated at Athelney. As Plummer says, he was
probably a myth created by an attempt to explain that name as
^(5elwine's, or Ethelwine's, island.*

32 . . . 21. — The ATiTiales Li7idisfar7ie7tses et CaTttuarteTtses
give the exact date of King Ecgberht's death, namely, "iv.
Non Jul.," i.e. 4th July.^

33 . . . I. — The Bishop of Lichfield, called Wynfrid by
Bede, is called Wulfred in one MS. of ^ddi.^

^ M.H.B., 622. 2/^216. 3 ^^^g^ iv. ch. 5.

* William of Malmesbury, 190 ; Plummer, Bede, ii. 143.
^ See Pertz, iv. 2. ^ Ch. 25.

362 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

33 . . . 25. — Bede does not mention Wynfrid's journt^y
abroad. There is some difficulty about his chronology.^

35 . . . 20. — His wife was Eormengilda, daughter of King
Earconberht of Kent.^

36 . . . 21. — Montalembert compares St. Etheldrytha's conduct
to that of St. Radegunda toward King Chlothaire, who found he
had married a nun and not a queen : " Dicebat se habere jugalem
monacham, non regi?tam.^^

37 . . . 13. — Wilfrid's conduct in this matter apparently had
the countenance of Bede.^ It was entirely contrary to the teaching
of St. Columba, who forbade a wife to go into a monastery, quoting
Rom. vii. 2 and Matt. xix. 6.'^ St. Gregory was very emphatic on
the subject. He declared that a dissolution of marriage, religionis
causa, though allowed by the human law, was forbidden by the
Divine, quoting the same passage from St. Matthew.^

38 . . . 22. — She was possibly the princess of the same name
who had previously married Merwald, Prince of the Hwiccas.

53 . . . 21. — Montalembert speaks of Bosa very unfairly as
" This intruder among English monks." ^ Bede calls him " Deo
dilectus et sancfissimusy '^

54 . . . 7. — It is most noteworthy in view of later controversies
that Theodore consecrated three bishops alone — " inordinate solus
ordinavity ^

58 . . . 12. — Deodato was Bishop of Toul from 679 to 680.

58 . . . 20. — Paul the Deacon speaks of him as ^^ jiisticiae tenax
mitis per omnia et suavis" ^ He had once been on the point of
taking shelter in Britain. The wife of his son Cunincpert was an
Englishwoman. Hodgkin (vi. 305, note) says : " Ecgberht, King
of Kent from 664-673, had a sister Eormengild who married
the King of Mercia. In the family of his uncle Eormenred, all
the daughters' names began with ^thel. From one of these
families might well spring Eormelind or Hermelinda," of whom
Paul the Deacon says : " Cunincpert rex Hermelinda ex Saxonum
Anglorum genere, duxit uxoram^ The use of the phrase Saxonum
Anglorufn here is notable. Cunincpert was visited by Caedwalla
the Wessex king on his journey to Rome.^^

70 . . . 17. — In reporting the doings of the Synod at Rome,
Bede incidentally tells us what was the theory then prevalent as to

^ See Plummer, Bede, ii. 216.' ^ Florence of Worcester, M.H.B., 635, etc.

' iv. 19, *See Vit, Ad,, ii. \\. = Vide Ep. xl. 45 ; Bright, 287, note 2.

^ iv. 31, note. ' v. 20. ^ ^Eddi, ch. 24.

' Paul Diac, Lang., v. 33-37. ^" Hodgkin, vi. 15.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 363

the position of the bishops at such synods or councils. He says
that when Wilfrid had taken his seat among the other bishops
he was called upon to declare his faith and that of the island or
province whence he came. When he and his brethren had been
found orthodox, the fact was recorded among the Acts of the
Synod. The orthodoxy of each bishop was clearly judged there-
fore by the opinion of the majority, and would be conclusive as
to his right to vote or not. It was easy enough to secure
unanimity in this fashion.

90 . . . 14. — The bishop who waylaid Wilfrid in France
was, according to Mabillon, Waimar, Duke of Champagne, who
was made Bishop of Troyes by Ebroin to reward his services
against St. Leger.^

109 .. . 22. — On the other hand, Bede in his Lives of the
Abbots calls him " most venerable and pious."

112 .. . 25. — Hodgkin apostrophises the Andredes-wood as
" that dark impenetrable wood which yielded in later ages to
the axes of the charcoal-burners of Essex and of Kent."

113 .. . 27. — The name spelt ^thelwalch by Bede is spelt
^thelwald elsewhere.

121 .. . 7. — The Abingdon Chronicle says the black cross
was found with other traces of British Christianity at Sheoves-
ham, which it describes as ^^ civitas famosa . . . divities plena ^^
and which was surrounded by broad green meadows. Of this
cross it says that no one could profane it by perjury without
imperilling his life.^

133 .. . 4. — If we are to believe Wilfrid's panegyrist and
biographer, ^Eddi, Caedwalla was actually invited to invade
Sussex. His words: ^^ Na?n sanctus antistes Christi . . . saepe
anxiatum exukfn adjuvavit . . . usquedum . . . regnum adeptus
est . . . Regnante Caedwalla^ Occidentaliuni Saxonum regionis
7nonarchiam tenens statim . . . Sanctum Wilfridum . . . ad se . . .
accersivit . . . Venerabili patre veniente, rex Caedwalla . . . in
omni regus suo excelsum co7isiliarium ??iox ilium composuit.^^ ^

141 . . . 15. — Stevenson says these white chrismal robes were
worn until the first Sunday after Easter, which was thence known
as ^^ Dominica albis^^

156 .. . 23. — After " sixteenth " add ** and seventeenth." Bede
seems to imply that he himself wrote an epitome of the book.^

^ Montalembert, iv. 270, note. ^ Op. cit. ii. 269.

^ Op. cit. ch. 42. ■* Stevenson, Bede^ 499.

^ See V. ch. 17, adfinem.

364 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

161 .. . 27. — As Montalembert says, there are no traces
of the Roman or Byzantine law in Theodore's Penitential. It
embodies the penal code of the Germans, founded on the principle
that requires a punishment for every offence or a compensation
for every punishment. ^ According to Godwin, de Prcesulibus^
p. 41, Theodore brought a copy of Homer with him, which he
continually read, and which was much admired by his ecclesiastical
descendants.

t68 . . . 13. — When the tomb of Archbishop Theodore was
opened in 1091 remains were found of all his episcopal ornaments
and also of his pallium. On his head had been placed a monk's
hood.2

168 . . . 27. — It is also notable that the first seven Arch-
bishops of Canterbury were all monks.

197 . . . 34. — Montalembert reminds us that " Oswy took his
daughter ^Ifleda from the caresses of her mother to entrust her,
not, as might have been supposed, to his sister, the Abbess
^bba of Coldingham, but to Hilda, a princess of a rival dynasty,
who nearly ten years before had been initiated into monastic life
by Abbot Aidan." ^

201 .. . 16. — Two miles nearer Oxford than the present
Abingdon. 4

249 . . . 9. — Among Wilfrid's opponents St. Hilda was
prominent. Malmesbury says of them : " //// viri quo os sa?ictis-
simos celebrat a?ttiquitas, Theodorus^ Berhtzvaldus, Joha?tnes^ Bosa
necnon et Hilda abbatissa, digladiabili odio i77ipetierunt Wilfridum
Deo ut ex aniedictis probatur, acceptissimum." ^

Cuthberht, a typical saint, as well as Abbot Benedict Biscop,
rejected the claims of Wilfrid. In his account of the latter, Bede
speaks in warm admiration of the kings who expelled him, and
never disapproves of the so-called usurping bishops.^

251 .. . 6. — ^ddi's phrase in regard to this matter is plain.
He tells us Wilfrid returned from exile ^Uumfiliosuo propria^ veniens
de HrypisT ^ In another chapter (18) he speaks of another boy
who was called Eadwald, who died of the plague at Ripon {in
Dei servitio ad Hrypis, i.e. in Wilfrid's own monastery), as ''^filius
episcopij^' or son of the Bishop, which is equally plain.

^ Op. cit. V. 208.

^ Jocelyn, Vit. ; vide Sinith's Bede^ 189 ; Lingard, ii. 49, note.

3 Op. cit. iv. 120. ■* Bright, 298, note.

' William of Malmesbury, Gesta Pont., iii. 107.

" Plummer, ii. 316. ' Vide ch. 59.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 365

258 . . . 13. — Stevenson suggests that Torthelm was prob-
ably one of those who, as Bede testifies (iii. 8), had gone from
Britain to Gaul to study because the facilities were greater there.

258 . . . 15. — " ^rf/^z'/^^/^/j- " is the word used in the Anony-
mous Hist, of the Abbots ; in Bede's work on the abbots they are
called ^^ Cementarii'^ The word is translated "handicraftsmen
in stone " in the Anglo-Saxon version.

272 . . . 29. — The English glass-makers were not long in
forgetting the lessons they had learnt, for in a letter of Cuthberht,
Abbot of Wearmouth, written to LuUus, the Archbishop of
Mainz, he asked him to send him some artificers who could make
good glass vessels, for his people were ignorant of the art.
*' Sialiquis homo in tua sit parr ochia^ qui vitreavasa benepossitfacere,
mihi mittere digneris. Aut, si fortasse ultra fines est in potestate
cujusdam alterius^ sine tua parrochia, rogo ut fraternitas tua illi
suadeat^ ut ad nos usque perveniat, quia ejusdevi ig?iari et inopes
sumus.'" ^

273 . . . 10. — It was on this occasion that he was accompanied
to Italy by his friend Ceolfrid. There they were honourably
received by Pope Agatho,^ who, as we have seen, had himself
probably visited England. This could not have taken place
before the summer of 678, since Agatho was not consecrated till
June or July of that year, although Florence of Worcester gives
the date as 676. They returned to England in 679 or 680.

275 .. . 18. — Bede defended the use of pictures against the
iconoclasts. Thus, in his homily on Solomon's Temple, he
urges that if the serpent was raised up in the wilderness, why
should not Christ on His cross be also raised up ? " Ad memoriam
fidelibus depingendo reduci, vel alia ejus miracula . . . cum horuni
aspectus saepe multuni compunctionis soleat praestare contuentibus,
ut eis quoque^ qui litteras ignorant^ quasi vivam Dominicae historiae
pafidere lectio?te7nJ^ His conclusion is " non . . . imagines rerutn
. . ./aceresed, . . idolatriae gratia facere . . . esse prohibitum^ ^
And he speaks of the artificers among the people of God as
skilled in all kinds of work in copper {aeris)^ iron, gold, and silver,
and as having been engaged in ornamenting the tabernacle.
Similarly we find Alcuin, in 790, asking a correspondent to send
him ^^pigmenta multa de sulfure bene et coloribus ad picturas.^^ *

277 .. . 16. — This name is derived from Gyruy, a marsh

^ Diimmler, Epp. Merov. et Karoling. Aevt, 406.

2 Bede, Hist. Abb., vi. ^ 0pp., viii. 336-37 ; Plummer, ii. 360.

^ Mon, Ale, p. 170 ; Plummer, ib.

366 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

(hence the Gyrvians in Cambridgeshire). Here, however, says
Dr. Bright, it denoted the " slake " or smooth bay where the
King's ships were wont to ride at anchor. " Wira . . . qui . . .
naves serena invectas, aura placidi ostii excipit gremio.^''^ It was
situated at the confluence of the rivers Don and Tyne, and was
afterwards known as the Port of King Ecgfrid.^

277 .. . 17. — There is a contradiction here between the
anonymous work on the Abbots and Bede's corresponding pro-
duction, caused by some mistake. The former says there were
twenty-two monks at Jarrow when it was founded, while the earlier
work says there were only seventeen. The former also adds that
Ecgfrid marked out the spot where the altar was to be placed.^

303 . . . 2. — Benedict Biscop also warned his monks against
the practice, then becoming frequent, of appointing men as abbots
on account of their high birth rather than their character.

305 . . . I. — The translation of Eosterwyn and Sigfrid and
the burial of Witmar took place in August 716.

311 .. . 18. — Nechtan or Naiton was the son of Derili and
brother of Brude, whom he succeeded in 706.^ In 724 he was
tonsured, probably involuntarily, and in 726 was imprisoned by
his rival Drust. In 728 he recovered a part of his kingdom.
In 729 he was badly defeated by Angus, King of the Scots, of
Fortrenn, and died in 732. These dates are from Tighernach.^

316 .. . 26. — The Britons of Wales did not conform in the
matter of Easter till the middle of the eighth century, and the
controversy lasted among them till the ninth century.^

319 . . . 23. — The words are "d?<? Saxonia" and the use of the
name is singular, since Northumbria was so typically Anglian.

321 . . . 27. — This is a mistake. Instead of "rather than"
read "although." Alcuin has the same thought in addressing
the monks at Wearmouth : " Patribus oboeditt vestris . . .
adoUsceniulos bene docete^ ut habeatis qui super sepulcra vestra
stare possint et intercedere pro animabus vestris!^ Mr. Plummer
thus aptly quotes Tennyson's lines : —

"I go lo plant it on his tomb,
That if it can it there may bloom,
Or dying, there at least may die." *

^ Op. cit. 365 ; Malmesbury, Gesta Regum^ i. 3.
^ Sytn. Durh., i. p. 51. ^ Plummer, ii. 361.

* Tighernach, sub an. ^ See Plummer, ii. 331.

^ lb. ii. 301. "^ Mon. Ale, p. 843. * Plummer, ii. 180.^

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 367

321. — Ceolfrid was seventy-four when he died, and must
therefore have been thirty-six when he went to Rome.

329 . . . II. — Bede, in his "Ages of the World," calls the
Quinisext Council the "erratic synod which Justinian summoned
at Constantinople " {erraticae suae synodo quam . . . fecerai)}-

350 . . . 25. — Dr. Bright suggests that these letters of Sergius
were forged in order to magnify the archbishopric in connection
with Rome.

360 . . . 10. — I find that I had been forestalled in this view by
William of Malmesbury in his Gesta Regum. Montalembert also
says Beorhtwald was descended from the dynasty which reigned
in Mercia, and was the first of the reign of Odin who took his
place among the successors of the apostles. ^

374 .. . 10. — The Anglo-Saxon version calls him Beard-
sachna Abbot.

377 . . . 29. — Offa, although not called King of Essex in
the text of Bede, is so called in the Capitula. William of
Malmesbury, who probably had no more knowledge than we
have, says he reigned for a short time. If he did so it must
have been a little before 709. On going to Rome he left his
wife {reliquit uxorem).^ On his arriving there he was tonsured,
and soon after died. At that time Constantine was Pope.*
The fact is mentioned in the Liber Pontificalis under the heading
of Pope Constantine, where we read: ^^ Hujus temporibus duo
reges Saxonum ad orationem apostolorum cum aliis pluribus
venientes sub velocitate suani vitam^ ut obtabant finierunt,^^ ^ The
entry is copied by Paul the Deacon.^

379 ... 14 and 15. — Here, as on the dedication -stone of
the monastery at Jarrow, the foundation of the abbey is attri-
buted to Ceolfrid, ^^juvante Benedicto" Alcuin in one of his letters
counsels the brethren in his monasteries to regularly read the
rule of St. Benedict, as well as to have it expounded, pointing
to the fact that all the monks did not know Latin. There seems
to then have been an oratory in the dormitory at Jarrow,'^ and
Plummer quotes a parallel case at St. Mary's Hospital,
Chichester.^

381 .. . 3. — ^thelbald succeeded to the throne in 716,
since Bede says that 731 was the fifteenth year of his

1 Smith's Bede, 31.

2 Op. cit. iv. 310.

^ Bede, v. 19.

''lb.

^ Op. cit. (ed. Mommsen), 225.

^ Hist. Lang. , vi. 28

' Op. cit. 17.

^ Op. cit. ii. 367.

368 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

reign. ^ The A?iglo-Saxo7t Chronicle (sub an. 716) says he
reigned twelve years. He was buried at Repton.

386 . . . 21. — Since this part of the text was in print, I
have come across a paper by Dean Spence of Gloucester, which
is buried in a periodical, now no more, called Good Words.'^ In
it he describes the rediscovery of Osric's coffin. It was found
enclosed in a fine tomb which was placed on the right of the
high altar. It has an elaborate canopy covering a royal effigy
representing an old man with a flowing beard and having on his
hand a model of the Abbey of Gloucester, and is inscribed with
black characters partly effaced, but corresponding to the epitaph
given by Leland, except that it is dated 681. The tomb was
erected by the last Abbot of Gloucester called Maban, and is
stamped with his arms.

It was opened on the 7th of January 1892. On removing
two panels from its south side a long leaden coffin was disclosed,
the upper end of which had been crushed. Some bones and
grey dust were seen, but these were not disturbed. This
was a pity, I think, for it might have, and probably did, contain
some objects of the highest interest to the archaeologist, and
would have done no harm to the Royal dust. Art remains of
that date are very rare, and this is the only very early Royal
coffin which remains intact.

408 . . . 17. — My learned friend, the late C. Elton, in
English Origins^ 379, says: "Great numbers of Britons seem to
have taken refuge in the wild fens."

426 . . . 24. — If the plague which broke out at Barking,
as described in the first Appendix, was the outbreak of 664,
it will, as has been urged, put back the date of the build-
ing of the nunnery to an earlier date than has been
supposed.

444 . . . 9. — The fixing of the date of its foundation depends
upon the events in the life of Boniface. He was killed in 755
when he was about seventy-five years old. This puts his birth
about the year 680.

455 . . . 21. — His biographer, Faricius, tells us that Aldhelm
could write and speak the Greek language like a native of
Greece, and this we should expect from a scholar and a disciple
of two such men as Theodore and Hadrian. His Latin style is
overloaded with Greek words and idioms. Dr. Bright quotes
doxa^ Sophia^ kata among these, and he adds a curious statement,
1 Op. cit. V. 24. 2 i8g2, pp. 388-395.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 369

namely, that a similar Gr?ecising affectation characterises the
language of many of the Anglo-Saxon charters, e.g. kyrius, archon^
taumafe, agie^ catascopiis, etc.^

Faricius says again that he excelled all Latin scholars
since the days of Virgil (!!!). It would seem, in fact, that
his overloaded and turgid style rather attracted the scholars of
the twelfth century, for William of Malmesbury speaks of it as
combining the excellencies of English, Greek, and Latin. He
speaks of its pompositas, by which, as Mr. Wildman says, he
does not mean its pomposity, but its dignified and stately
character, a description approved by him. " Difficult," he says,
"as it sometimes is to construe, it moves with a magnificent
swing, like the march of a battalion of the Guards." ^

Faricius further tells us, and it is curious if true, that he
knew Hebrew and read the prophets, the psalms of David, the
works of Solomon, and the law of Moses in that tongue.

King Alfred speaks in high terms of his poems in the
vernacular, which he puts at the head of all English poetry.
Alas ! these have apparently all perished. He wrote a treatise
on metrical rules for Latin poetry, and was also a proficient
musician.

In regard to the subjects of which he showed some know-
ledge, we may mention rhetoric, of which he, however, had only
studied the tropes.

There is no proof that he had studied dialectics, although
he names it among the seven Arts. In his letter to Hseddi,
Aldhelm speaks of his studies in law and in calculation. By
law, according to M. Roger, he means the divine law. He
quotes a passage, from his work in praise of Virgins, where he
speaks of the Arcana legum as equivalent to the laws of Moses,
thus following the example of Isidore. On the other hand, as
Lingard says, Bede, a generation later, in his Chronicle, speaks
of the Code of Justinian as well known to his countrymen, ^
and M. Roger reminds us that probably in England as in Gaul
(and he may have added Spain) the clergy took a prominent
share in legislation and administration, and some knowledge
of Roman law would therefore be considered as part of the
equipment of a learned man.*

By arithmetic and astronomy (which he distinguishes from

^ Op. cit. 296, note. 2 Qp^ ^^^^ ^^^

5 Smith's Bede, p. 28.

* Roger, L enseignement des Lettres Classigues, p. 293.
VOL. III. — 24

370 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

astrology), Aldhelm doubtless meant the astronoj?iiae et arith-
meiicae ecclesiasticae disciplina which Hadrian, according to Bede,
had taught.^

In dealing with his Latin style, we must distinguish the poet
and the prose writer. First, in regard to his prose. His claim
to have been the first of Englishmen to practise the art of
Latin composition in prose and verse was not unreasonable,
and he might have been, and probably was (like most poets are
prone to be), a little self-conscious. One of his own lines which
he is fond of quoting, is repeated in five of his compositions. In
it he apostrophises St. Peter as " Claviger aetherius qui portani
pandit in aethra" i.e. " Key-bearer of heaven who opens the way
to the skies." ^

458 .. . 13. — iEthelwald gives a glowing description of
Aldhelm, beginning :

" Vale vale, fidissime
Phile Christo carissime
Quern in cordis cubiculo
Cingo amoris vinculo.''^

It describes Aldhelm as of virile shape and sage in deed and
word, of noble race and dignified stature, agile, with white or
bright hair {caput candescens crinibus), keen eyes, red cheeks,
excellent bearing, wonderful hands, graceful and strong legs
{tibiae cursu teretes), and he ends by wishing him a happy life
under God's protection here, and everlasting joy in the next
world.^

462 .. . 20. — Bugga's church is said to have been at
Withington in Gloucestershire, near Malmesbury.

464 . . . 5. — In this poem, de Laudibus Virginis^ he thus
describes an organ :

^ We must always remember, however, that his various studies, and
notably those among the classical authors, were not inspired by any love of the
matter of their contents. It was in order to enable him better to study the
Bible that he took this pains. In writing to his pupil ^thelwald, he pressed
on him that the only use of secular learning was to illuminate that which was
divine. Of science or true learning he had very little. We must not wonder,
says Dr. Bright, at his believing that St. Clement of Rome wrote the Itiner-
avium Petri, that Pope Silvester bound a pestilent serpent, or that Constan-
tine was cured of leprosy by being baptized (Bright, 294).

^ It occurs in his poem on the altars of the Virgin and the Apostles, in
that written in honour of St. Peter and St. Paul, in his letter to Acircius, and
he offers it as a specimen in his poem on Virginity addressed to the Nuns
of Barking (see Browne, op. cit. 333 and 334).

"Giles, Aid. 0pp., 113.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 371

^^ Si vero quisquam cliordarxwi rcspnit odas,

Et canhi gracili reftigit conientus adesse
Maxima ?nillenis auscultans organa Jlabris
Mtclceat aziditum ventosis follibus iste,
Quamlibet auratis fulgescant cetera capsis."

He was himself a skilful lute player, and he seems to be
sarcastic about those who are not content with the "graceful
musick of stringed instruments," but prefer to "soothe their
ears with the blasts of the great organs with their gusty bellows
and thousand pipes glittering in their gilded cases." ^

467 .. . passim. — It is easy to criticise all this, but we forget in
doing so that what we call style or taste (and simplicity and natural-
ness are two prominent elements in it) is the growth of culture,
and is not a spontaneous gift. When Hindoos and Japanese
first come face to face with Western thought and the contents of
Western knowledge, and they attempt to write English, it is just
as pedantic and artificial and involved. The prose of Henry the
Eighth's time, and perhaps still more that of the late seventeenth
century, is much of it loaded with the same dead weight of false
ornament, and we must remember what it must have been for an
Anglo-Saxon from the wilds of Wessex to come in contact with
all the available contents of Latin and Greek and Hebrew learn-
ing, and then to set to work, in what to him was a foreign tongue,
to try and pour out the golden grain again for his spiritual and
secular children. He naturally used up a large number of allu-
sions which were new to his readers, and sounded very learned.
His correspondents wrote more or less in the same style. The
play upon words in measured lines was an amusement in earlier
times than Aldhelm's, and Mr. Wildman quotes two notable
lines from Sidonius Apollinaris. One is very ingenious j it reads
exactly alike backwards and forwards :

" Roma tibi sztbiio motibus ibit amor.''''

A second one is not so good, because it contains a false quantity
and a hiatus, and has no satisfactory meaning :

" Sole medere pede ede perede melos."

Although Aldhelm was the first Englishman to introduce this
inflated and artificial style in Latin, it is pretty clear he did not
invent it. Haddan long ago pointed out that even he does not
^ Aldhelm's Works, by Giles, 107, 108.

372 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

use it, at least to the same extent, in all his writings, and chiefly
reserves it for " Irish friends or pupils from Ireland," such as
Eahfrid. Quite lately M. Roger has shown that it came in fact
from Irish and Welsh models, like the Hisperica Famina, or
British ones, as was also the case with the Lorica of Bede.

Thus he says : " .... En lisant I'epitre ^ Eahfrid, on se
demande d'abord si ce n'est pas une plaisanterie, quelque chose
comme le chapitre oil Rabelais raille les latiniseurs de son temps.
Peut-etre Aldhelm a-t-il voulu, ^crivant k un homme qui etudiait
en Irlande, montrer qu'on pouvait posseder un beau style sans
avoir entrepris ce voyage. . . . Peut-etre aussi I'ecole litteraire
qui avait produit les Hisperica Famina avait-elle des admirateurs
qu'Aldhelm eut le desir de satisfaire. Toujours est-il que cette
lettre differe sensiblement du reste de son oeuvre. Les lettres
k Geronte, k Haeddi, k un clerc de Wilfrid sont tout k fait intel-
hgibles. Aldhelm lui-meme nous a confie qu'il avait deux styles :
quand il etait press^ il ^crivait vite, sans ecarter du sujet {cursim
pedeUmptim^^ dans le cas contraire il se laissait entrainer par la
douceur du bavardage [garrulo verbositas strepitu)^ ^

Aldhelm created a certain number of new words, but not
many. M. Roger has collected a group of them.^ His style
abounds in Hellenisms and in unaltered Greek words, sometimes
written in Greek letters, as in the phrase, " ad doxam onomatis
{ — fos) Kyrie^

The wealth of his vocabulary and the number of his synonyms
are amazing. Turning to his poetry, it is remarkable, as M. Roger
has pointed out, that the defects so patent in Aldhelm's prose
style should be much less obvious in his poetry. He explains this
very neatly in the following sentences : " II semblerait que les
libertes du langage po^tique et la faculte d'employer des images
offraient, h, la subtilite d'Aldhelm, une matiere plus riche encore
que la prose. Pourtant, ses vers sont la partie de son oeuvre la plus
intelligible. C'est qu'ici, il a ^td mieux guide dans le choix de
ses modeles, et surtout qu'il a et^ contraint k plus de retenue par
son inexperience." 3 In his treatise on the art of poetry he
quotes freely from ancient models as examples, while in his own
practice he relies more on the Christian poets. He was especially
troubled by the difficulties of " quantity " in versification, and by
Latin syntax as compared with his own. Latin to him was a new
tongue, so that he was not like the Franks and Visigoths, with
whom Latin was passing into a jargon, and among whom the writers
' Op. cit. 295. 2 /^^ 296, note. ^ lb. 297.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 373

had to unlearn a barbarous decaying language if they were to acquit
themselves well in writing Latin. As M. Roger says, the monks
of Malmesbury and Jarrow had as their mother tongue a parody
of the language which they had to learn. He was, however,
troubled by the fact that the sense of quantity was not known in
his own speech, for its poetry was one of rhythm, which had im*-
posed itself upon the Latin hymns in the Church, and which
would have been anathema to the poets of the Golden Age, and
he also introduced it in a different way, namely, by a recurrence
of accent at certain intervals in the lines. It was the restraint
imposed by these difficulties that probably caused Aldhelm to
write a much better and simpler style in verse than in prose. In
writing to H^ddi he speaks of the difficulty of writing poetry.
A large part of his own prose vocabulary to which older poets had
not assigned quantity was banished from his verse. In addition
to which it was not possible to force a good many abstract terms,
Hellenisms, and compound words into hexameters.

473 . . . 20. — These verses on St. Peter and St. Paul are
twenty-one in number. They comprise nine also contained in
the much larger poem on Bugga's basilica, which Mr. Wildman
therefore deems to be earlier. In the latter poem King Caed-
walla is mentioned as recently dead, so that it was written
probably about 690. It must have been composed before that
year, so also for the same reason must ^thelwald's letter and
Aldhelm's answer. See also his letter to Osgith.

474 . . . 9. — Cellan calls him Archimandrite (abbot), and he
had ceased to be Abbot and become Bishop in 705.

477 .. . 9. — In his letter to Eahfrid^ Aldhelm quotes some
lines from his own tract on Virginity. He also speaks in it of
Theodore as still living, though he is also referred to as '"'■ beatae
memoriae^^^ and as Theodore died in 690, it proves that all the
treatise on Virginity was finished before 690, and possibly some
time before.

494 . . . 25. — His health was doubtless injured by his austeri-
ties, and, as in other cases, he was prone to exaggerations.
Thus William of Malmesbury tells us that in order to check the
temptations of the flesh he used to submerge himself in a well
near the monastery both winter and summer, while he sang the
Hours. The well was afterwards called after him, as another
well was called after Bishop Daniel. 2 Malmesbury also puts it
to his credit that in order to preserve his chastity he did not
^ Ante, ii. 465, 466. 2 Qesta Pont., 357.

374 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

seclude himself as others did from the society of women, but
he took other precautions, showing what straits the unnatural
celibate life imposes on saints by enhancing libidinous thoughts.
{Immo vero vel assidens vel cubit ans aliquam detinebat ; quoad carnis
tepescente lubrico^ quieto et iinmoto discederet animo, Derideri se
videbat Diabolus, cernens adherentem foe7ninam virujnque^ alias
avocato animo, insistentem cantando Psalterio. Valefaciebat ille
mulieri salvo pudore, illasa castitate. Residebat carnis incom-
modum ; dolebat ?tequam spiritus de se agitati ludibriuiJi})

When writing the life of Aldhelm in an earlier page^ I
postponed an appreciation of his mental gifts to a later
opportunity, and feel constrained, therefore, to devote a few
paragraphs to them here.

When we measure his literary position we must remember
that he was the very first Saxon, as far as we know, who was
a scholar and literary man in our sense of the word. He
was the beginner and fountain source of the long stream
of scholars who have since so abundantly flourished in these
realms : this he claims for himself. " No one," he says, " sprung
from our stock, and born of German blood, has before our
mediocre work done this kind of thing " {quanto constat neminem
nostrae stirpis prosapia genitum, et Germanicae gentis cunabulis
confotuniy in huJus?fiodi negotio ante ?tostra?n 7nediocritatem
tantopere desudasse).^ This not only in Latin prose compositions
but in verse also. And thus he applies to himself Virgil's own

lines :

^^ Prifnus ego in patriam jnecum {modo vita super sit).
Aonio rediens deducam vertice Musas
Primus Iduitiaeas referam tibi, Mantua patmas.'* ^

This must be remembered when we criticise his prose style,
which is full of the most pompous, elaborate, and loaded
rhetoric. His sentences seem " frozen with pedantic formal-
ism," says one critic. He literally chokes the narrative with his
images and metaphors, and delights in " literary sleight of hand,
in acrostics, in enigmas, in alliterations, in a play upon words, and
a childish and grotesque redundance of expression." Lingard,
another critic, says of him and his scholars : " They looked upon
simplicity as a fault. Their object was to surprise and dazzle.
They transferred to their Latin prose all the gorgeous apparatus
of their national poetry, bewildered themselves and their readers

^ Gesta Pont., 358. 2 Ante, ii. 486.

^ Epist. ad Acircium, ed. Giles, 327. '^ Jb,

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 375

amidst a profusion of extravagant metaphors, and, as if the
language of Rome was too poor to depict their conceptions,
bespangled every sentence with Greek words in a Latin dress." ^
" His language," says Haddan, " for enigmatic erudition and
artificial rhetoric, rivals Armado and Holophernes, or Euphues." ^
Of this school of writers in England Aldhelm was the leader, the
past master.

" Never content with illustrating his sentiment by an adapted
simile, he is perpetually abandoning his subject to pursue his
imagery. He illustrates his illustrations till he has forgotten both
their meaning and applicability. Hence his style is an endless
tissue of figures which he never leaves till he has converted every
metaphor into a simile and every simile into a wearisome
episode. . . . His imagery was valued for its minuteness,
although usually unnecessary to its subject, . . . and yet as these
long details contained considerable information for an unculti-
vated mind, and sometimes presented pictures which in a poem
might not have been uninteresting, it was read with curiosity
and praised with enthusiasm. Sharon Turner argues (I think
justly) that the violence and exuberance of his metaphors and
images was largely derived from similar features in Northern
poetry to which they were natural."^

Involved, pompous, and parenthetical as his prose style is,
it is yet remarkable what a rich vocabulary and what dexterous
employment of idioms it also implies.

Among his own works Aldhelm probably valued most
what had cost him the most labour, namely, his work on the
metrical art and on versification. When he was at school at
Canterbury he tells us how he studied this art, which was
apparently a prominent feature of the school curriculum, as it
has been until lately in our grammar schools. He tells us how
elaborately the art of versification was, in fact, taught : ^' Foetica
septenae divisionis disciplina^ hoc est, acephalas, procilas cum
caeteris qualiter varietur, qui versus fnonostemi, qui pentastemi,
qui decastemi certa pedum mensura tertninentur ; et qua ratione
catalectici et brachyacatalectici seu ipse ipercatalecti versus sagace
argumentatione colligantur."

How this was taught without special handbooks and other
apparatus is hard to imagine. It would seem that Aldhelm was
determined that the ingenuous youth of England should travel an

'^Anglo-Saxon Church, ii. 152. ^Remains, 267,

'^History of the Anglo-Saxons, iii. 403, 404.

376 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

easier road than he had had to travel himself, and he made up
his mind to write a manual or guide-book for the purpose. He
does so on a very elaborate scale, elaborating minute details
of grammar, prosody, and metrical rules, and quoting Virgil
very frequently, Ovid twenty-six times, and Lucan often, Persius
and Terence, Horace and Juvenal as his models.

In dealing with the life of Aldhelm in the text I postponed to
a later page the consideration of his treatment of Latin poetry, in
which he was a remarkable innovator. This subject he discusses
in his well-known treatise addressed to his friend, King Alchfred
of Northumbria, whom he styles Acircius, and which he otherwise
calls ''''Liber de Septe?iario et de metris aenigmatibus ac pedum
regulis." In the first section of the book, which is very irrelevant
to his main subject, allusion is made to the sevenfold gifts of the
Spirit and to the Seven Sacraments. Aldhelm then plunges into
a discussion on the importance of the number seven. He goes
through the records of the Old and New Testaments to prove his
case, and in some cases reaches ingenious if not profitable results.
Thus he points out that there are seven petitions in the Lord's
Prayer, and eleven times seven generations in the pedigree of
Jesus as given by St. Luke.

A large part of the work is devoted to an elaborate account
of the various kinds of metrical poetry, — that is, the poetry of metre,
such as hexameters, iambics, trochaics, etc., — with a dissection of
the laws of metre and their application. This analysis he pursues
at great length with considerable skill and minuteness, following
the method and the results of the older Latin grammarians, and
giving numerous illustrative examples, some of which are telling.
Thus in bidding his pupil distinguish between carex (a sedge or rush)
and carica (a dried fig), he mentions the confusion caused by a
writer who told how a hermit in the East sustained his exhausted
limbs by eating five rushes a day, as though he were a fasting ox or
stag, while all the time he really meant that the poor man lived
on five figs. He points out that in the word conju7ix the
letter n only occurs in the nominative and vocative singular,
and bids him distinguish between sedeo with short e and sede
with a long one, and liquor and nitor in one verse having a long
vowel and in another a short one ; but he sometimes makes
mistakes.

Occasionally he is much puzzled how to get Latin names into
his lines without metrical breaches ; thus he converts the name
of the nun Eustochia into Eustochium, using the former in his

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 377

prose and the latter in his verse. The name Chionia, says Bishop
Browne, seems to have been too much for him. He evades the
difficulty by saying of her and her sisters Irene and Agape,
" Quaru7n per prosam descripsi nomi?ia dudu7ny The sister
of Rufina is not directly mentioned by him in his verse.
He evades his difficulty here by referring to her as aetate
secu7ida}

Having described in narrative form the varieties of metre and
various critical matters referring to it, he adopts a form of
dialogue in which a disciple puts questions and the master
replies — thus :

D. What is an acephalan ?

M. A verse without a head, where the first syllable is short,
contrary to the nature of the verse.

D. Give me an authoritative example.

M, In the second verse of the ^neid Virgil has placed an
acephalan, thus ^^ Italiam fato profugus" and sanctions a barbarism
by using a tribrach for a dactyl. And so on.

In another part of his work Aldhelm discusses phonology in
an elementary way, and distinguishes what he calls the articulate
speech of man from the inarticulate in animals. Again asked by
his pupil how he would describe the speech of animals, he says :
Bees, ambizant or bombtzant ; birds, minuriunt or uerTiant or
uernicafit ', asses, o?icant or rudiunt; horses, hinniunt \ a jug
when water is poured from it, bibilit\ hens, cacillant\ cocks,
cantant or cucurriunt ; wolves, ululant \ sheep, balant \ par-
tridges, cacabant; young pigs, grunniunt\ old pigs, grundiunt ',
chickens and hoys, pip a?it ; men, loquuntur\ yoktls, jubilant ',^
etc. etc.

Ordinary poetry, however, which followed classical models,
did not suffice to meet the tastes of the times. It was too long
and tedious, perhaps, and was supplemented by what became
a favourite amusement, namely, the making of enigmas and
riddles, the meaning and answers to which were more or less
deftly concealed and had to be guessed. The great model for
these was a collection which sometimes passed under the name
of Lactantius and was known as Symposii aeTtigmata, either the
work of a certain Symposius, or more probably, as Wright
says, symposiaea aenigmata, " nuts to crack over our wine."
The riddles in this collection assigned to Lactantius are 105

^ See Bishop Browne, St. Aldhelm, 320.
2 lb. 307.

378 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

in number and all arranged in triplets. The following is an

example :

A Ship

* * Longa feror velox formosae filia silvae.
Innumera pariter comitum stipante caterva ;
Curro vias 7nultas vestigia nulla relinqtiens.'"

Aldhelm was not content to rigidly follow Lactantius as a
model in limiting his enigmas to triplets, but inaugurated a new
departure, consisting of enigmas with a larger number of lines.
Of these he sends a hundred specimens to his patron, giving
a Greek name to each class, namely :

19 of 4 lines , aenigi

15 of 5 lines .

13 of 6 lines .

19 of 7 lines .

10 of 8 lines .

1 1 of 9 lines .
4 of 10 lines .
4 of 1 1 lines .
I of 12 lines .
I of 13 lines .
I of 15 lines .

mata tetrasticha.

pentasticha.

hexasticha.

heptasticha.

ostosticha.

enneasticha.

decasticha.

hendecasticha.

dodecastichon.

traicaidecastichon.

pentecaidecastichon (the example really
contains 16).
I of 16 lines . ,, heccaidecastichon.

I of 83 or 88 lines (the MSS vary) . aenigmata polystichon}

I will give an example of one of these enigmas in Latin and
a translation of a few more.

''^ Quainvis acre cavo salpinctis classic a clangant ;
Et citharae crepitenl, strepituque tiibae inodulentur :
Centenos tamen eructant mea viscera cantus :
Aleque slrepente stupent mox nnisica corda fibra^'icm.^'

The answer to this is an organ.

" Once was I water, full of scaly fish.
My nature changed, by changed decree of fate.
I suffered torments, torrid by the flames,
My face now shines like whitest ash or snow."

The answer is salt.

** Forth from the fruitful turf I spring unsown,
My head gleams yellow with its shining flower.
At eve I shut, at sunrise ope again.
Hence the wise Greeks have given my name to me."

A wallflower {Heliotropion).

^ Aldhelmi 0pp. ^ ed. Giles, 249-73.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 379

*' My coat is black and made of wrinkled bark,
And yet within I have a marrow white ;
At royal dinners, in the soup and stews
And other meats I play a proper part,
But still no virtue would you find in me
Were not my inside pounded very fine."
Pepper.

*' Twin sisters we, that share a common lot.
And by our labour furnish food for all.
Equal our toil, unequal is our task,
One sister runs, the other never moves ;
And yet we feel no envy, each for each.
Both chew our food, but it we never swallow.
We break it up and give it freely back."

A pair of millstones.

One more will suffice :

** Lo many a draught of Bacchus to make men drunk I save,
Squeezed by the wine-dresser's hands from the yellowing bunch
Which hung from the leafy green of the fruits of the vine,
Filling with nectar of grape the innkeeper's booths.
I swell to tlie fullest extent with the juice of the vine,
And yet never feel in myself any evil effect ;

No, not though the nectar that fills me be drawn from a hundred casks,
The child of the soil am I, grown up in the loftiest groves,
My substance is cloven and riven with wedges by rustic hands
When oaks and when pines in the glades by the axe are o'erthrown." ^

Answer, a wooden wine-cup.

Turning from his enigmas, I will now give a fair specimen
of Aldhelm's skill in narrative poetry. Here is a description of a
storm by him :

^^ Mox igitur coelujn nimbosa turbine iotum,
Et convexa poll nigrescunt aether e furvo,
Mtirttiura vasta sonant flammis co?7unista coruscis
Et tremiiit tellus magna tremebunda fragore
Humida rorifiuis hujuectant vellera guttis
Irrigat et terram tenebrosis imbribus aer
Complentur valles, et larga fluent a redundant. " ^

If there is not much poetic fervour in these lines there is certainly
music and grace and restraint, and a nice choice of phrases, which
one would hardly have expected from a Wessex monk in the
year 700 a.d.

* Bishop Browne, op. cit. 311-312.
^ De Laud. Virg,^ ed. Giles, p. 191.

380 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

These were not the only forms of poetry in which he indulged.
There had long existed a class of poets who had emancipated
themselves from their strict metrical rules and " substituted the
harmonies of emphasis or accent and of rhythm for that of
metre. It might happen that both would coincide, but this was
a matter of chance. The new style, or taste as we may call it,
was dependent on the melody of the ear as governed by the
artificial distribution of accent, and not to the measure of the
syllable as to whether it was long or short, and this presently led to
the corruption in the quantities of even well-known Latin words."

Bede defines rhythm as " verborum modulata compositio, non
metrica ratione sed numero syllabarum ad judicium auriu7n ex-
aminata, ut sunt carmina vulgarium poetaru?n." ^ " Thus in a line
of eight syllables, by placing the accent or ictus on every second
syllable, was formed an imitation of iambic tetrameter verse, and
by placing it on the first and every second syllable afterwards in
succession, an imitation of the trochaic. . . . This form of versi-
fication was much admired by the Anglo-Saxons. Not only was
the melody more striking, and the composition more easy, but
it was consecrated in their eyes by the example of the celebrated
St. Ambrose, and by the introduction of hymns composed in
that form into their choral service. ... In all their imitations,
however, they are careful to add an ornament which is found
only by accident in the original models, the ornament of final
rhymes to the lines of each couplet." ^ These imitations of
iambic and trochaic metres were very general among the Anglo-
Saxon poets.

Aldhelm was not content with the standard poetry of classical
times, nor yet with the variations from it here described, but
diverged into other forms consisting partially of his own creation
and partially a transference of forms already existing in the
vernacular poetry in which he was such an adept. In some of
his efforts the difificulty of the metre was increased by the intro-
duction of middle as well as final rhymes in each line, as in this
riddle :

'*Lkbes"

^^ Horrida, curva^ rapax, patuHs fabricata vietallis
Pendeo : nee caelum (angeits, teri-amve proftindam ;
Ignibus ardescens, 7iec non et giirgite fervens^
Sic gerninas vario patior diicrimine pugnas
Du7n lymphae latices tolero, Jiammasque feroces.^*

^ De arte Metrica, c. 24, p. 77. ^ Lingard, i. 161 and 162.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 381

Acrostics, again, were another form which this verse-making
took. There were both single and double ; the latter being
formed by the combination of the initial and final letters of the
lines into a sentence to be read sometimes in a descending,
sometimes in an ascending direction. The following beginning
of an acrostic by Aldhelm is on his own name :

^* Arbiter, aethereo Jupiter, qui regmine sceptrA
Lucejiuuinque uimul coeli regale tribunaL
Disponis, modcrans ceteruis legibus illuD
Horrida nam mulctans torsisti jnembra BehemotH
Ex aha quondam meret dum luridus arcE
Limpida dictanii metrorum carmina praesuT.
Munera nunc largire : rudis quo pandere reruM
Versibus aenigmata queam clandestina fat U
Sic Deus indigtiis tua gratis dona rtpentiS. " ^

This is a conclusive proof of the way in which his name was
spelt.

The acrostic continues with a good many lines, the whole
making the sentence " Aldhelmus cecinit millenis versibus odas,^^
which probably preserves for us the number of lines of which the
aenigmata originally consisted, and which seem to show that the
collection of these riddles is now incomplete. Wright says that
in one MS. he had seen they contain 764 lines, while the printed
text contains 755 lines.

In the double acrostic preceding the treatise on Virginity the
key-line reads :

^^ Metrica tirones nunc pro mant cartnina castos.^^

The letters of this verse form the initials and concluding
letters of the several lines, and had to be read downwards at the
beginning and upwards at the end. The whole ended with a
puzzle consisting of the key-line reversed thus :

*^ Sotsac animract Namorp Cnunsenorita cirte.^^

Aldhelm and his scholars elaborated a still further device,
which the same writer says is peculiar to them, namely, the
frequent introduction of alliteration, in which there was a repeti-
tion of the same letter in the same line or in both lines of the
couplet, without attention to the accent. This is found in
several short poems by Aldhelm and his scholars. A notable

^ Giles, op. cit. 248.

382 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

example is the following by Ethelwald describing his master's

appearance, which runs as follows :

** Summo satore sobolis
Satus fuisti nobis
Generosa progenitus
Gemtrice expeditus,
Statura spectabilis,
Statu et forma agilis
Caput candescens crinibus
Cingunt capilli nitidis
Lucent sub fronts luniina
Lati ceu per cuhnina
Coeli candescunt calida
Clari fulgoris sidera."^

As specimens of Aldhelm's own handiwork in this method
may be quoted the line,

^^ Pallida, purpureo^ pingis qui flore vireta^' ;^
and again,

'* Et potiora cupit guatn pulset pectine ckordas
Queis psalmista pius psallebat cantibus olim.^^^

This form of poetry is very interesting to us since, as Lingard
says, it was of English invention, or rather^ probably, it was adapted
to Latin from the old English poems in which alliteration was a
marked feature. That it was peculiarly English appears from
Ethelwald's letter to Boniface, enclosing the poem last quoted,
in which, having no name for it, he describes it as without metre
and consisting of eight syllables in the line, with a repetition of
the same letter adapted to the course of each line in the
couplet, ^^ non pedum mensura, elucubratum sed octonis syllabis in
uno quolibet versu compositis, una eademque litera comparibus
linecarum transmiiibus aptata."'^

His works prove the extent of his reading, although, as
Manitius has said of them, he did not apparently have much
access to the Latin writers of the Golden Age. He has a
single reference to Pliny the younger, three to Cicero — two to
his second oration against Verres and the other to that against
Piso ; one passage comes from Pliny the elder, and there is a
reference to the Jugurtha of Sallust, probably taken from
Priscian or some other Latin writer. He quotes frequently from
Solinus, to whom Isidore of Seville was also much indebted.

Kjilcs, op. cit. p. 113. "^ lb. p. 136.

2 Wright, 44. ^ Ep. Bonify ep. Ixv. Lingard, ii. 164-165.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 383

Among Christian writers he quotes Orosius, but not accurately;
the Chronicle of Eusebius in the edition of Jerome ; the
Dialogues of St. Gregory ; St. Augustine, of whose Co?ifessions
he makes a special mention, while he also quotes from his
"Free Will," "The Master," and "The Mystic"; Sulpitius
Severus, Juvencus, Sidonius Apollinaris, Sedulius very often,
Arator and Cornippus and Venantius Fortunatus each a page of
citations, of whom he uses the Life of St. Martin, St. Cyprian,
St. Cassian, etc. etc. ; while he constantly quotes the Latin Bible.^
Plummer has shown that, like Bede, Aldhelm quotes the Bible
both in Jerome's version and the Old Latin.

In addition to these, he knew certain works of the gram-
marians, such as Donatus and his commentators Sergius and
Pompeius, Diomedes, Phocas, Audax, Isidore of Seville, and
probably also Virgil the grammarian, 2 the Encyclopaedia of
Suetonius known as the Praia, and Manitius thinks he also had
access to the work on the Cries of Animals.

As Bright says, he was, we cannot doubt, the most popular
of monks or priests. His scholars loved him passionately as
their most attached teacher of pure learning. " Mi a7?iantissime
purae i?istitutio?iis praeceptor^'' says his scholar Ethelwald in one
of his letters to him, and he goes on to relate how he had
tenderly watched over them from their early infancy and still
continued to watch over them and advise them. He was
certainly austere. He denounced the habit of gadding about on
horseback {equitandi vagatione culpabili), and also drinking bouts
and protracted feastings (conviviis usu frequentiore ac prolixiore
inho7ieste superfluis). He advised them to read the Scriptures
rather than immoral heathen poetry. (Alas ! that he had not
been so exacting here.) He bade them also avoid sensuality,
to be simple in dress and habits, and to keep in view that the
end of all secular knowledge was to better study and know
sacred things.^

His popularity as a literary man may be gathered from a
letter of St. Boniface, who was continually sending to England for
books, and on one occasion prays one of his friends to send him
some of those of Aldhelm "to console him amidst his labours
with the memorials of that holy bishop." ^

I am not quite so certain about the continuity suggested by

^Manitius, Sitzungberichte Vienna Acad,, cxii. 535, etc.
^ Roger, Enseignenient des Lettres C/assr'ques, 291, 292.
3 Bright, 445, 446. 4 Wright, 35.

384 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Dr. Bright, and fancy there was a considerable gap between the
old British monastery at Glastonbury associated with the name
of King Arthur and the one of later times. Great efforts were
made afterwards to bridge over this gap, and we have a charter
extant which is dated in 670, and professes to be a conveyance
of the land at Ferramere to the Abbot of Glastonbury, but two
kings' names are confused in the document — in one place he is
called Cead walla and in another Cenualla.

512 .. . 22. — William of Malmesbury says picturesquely of
him: ^^ cofiscendit . . . tremulum regni culmen Ceolwulfiy^

VOLUME III

6 . . . 3. — A few features of the monastic life in our English
monasteries at this time have escaped mention in the preceding
pages. Thus we are told that, while the monks at the earlier
date enjoyed a siesta after their noontide meals, St. Dunstan
only allowed himself the luxury in summer.^ They always slept
in their habits and their shoes. There was a separate building
for the novices, one reason being that if they wished to return
to their secular life they could reveal no secrets. There was
also a separate infirmary to which the sick and dying were
removed. Thus we read of one monk, "/« cella languidorum
deportatur^^ Another separate building was the guest-house
or hospice, presided over by a prepositus or prior hospitiuniy
answering to the fir thigis or man of hospitality in the Irish
monasteries. This was the post held by Cuthberht before he
became abbot.*

9 . . . 5. — There is a church dedicated to Eata at Altingham
or Atcham on the Severn, the birthplace of Ordericus Vitalis,
which perhaps took its name from the Saint.

18 . . . 24. — It was later that the Lindisfarne brotherhood
incorporated the Benedictine Rule with their own. ''^ Nobis
regularem vitam pritnum componens constituit quam usque hodie
cum regula Benedicti observamus^^

47 . . . 18. — The feast-day of St. Cuthberht was held at
Lindisfarne and was attended in later times by a great crowd of
lay-people and clerics, and not only filled the church but all the
approaches and the churchyard ; and after the service they sat

^ Gesta Regum, i. 58. ^ See Stubbs's Dunstan^ p, 52.

' Stubbs's Dunstan^ p. 147. ^ See Plummer, i. xxvi-xxix.

° " Vil. St. Cuthberhti," Bede op. min., p. 271.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 385

together at the tables for their food, regardless of their station
or rank. Reginald tells a pitiful story of the stress to which
the dapifer Gospatric was put to feed them, and how by a miracle
St. Cuthberht came to the rescue and supplied the necessary
bread, which consisted of those oaten spread-out cakes which
we know in Lancashire and Yorkshire. " Erant tamen,''^ says
Reginald, ^^ qnidam paniim perte?iiies, et in sui latitudine profusi^
et quasi de avenae speciei similitiidi?te cooperti" ^

Reginald also tells an interesting story about Norham
Church, in which was preserved a cross made of the wood of a
table upon which St. Cuthberht had been in the habit of eating
his meals, and upon which the whole neighbourhood were
accustomed to swear when an oath was required ; and he
mentions a man who was charged with a crime and had pro-
fessed his innocence before a proper tribunal, and his readiness
to wage battle in proof of his assertion. In this trial he was,
in fact, transfixed by a lance. As a preliminary step he went
to swear on the cross at his parish church of Norham.^

72 . . . 15. — This platform inside the coffin was put there
to prevent the damp from injuring the remains, and its surface
was impregnated with wax. The process is thus described by
Reginald : " Tabulam ligneam componunt, . . . quani de mane
usque ad vesperam secus torridos ignes calefactam, liquentibus ceris
iiificiunt^ et quantum possibile erai, earn tali liquoris dulcedine
infuderuntr ^

118 .. . 3. — At Durham there still remain two other books
which seem to be of a date coeval with Cuthberht (A, ii. 16
and A, n. 17), the former containing the four Gospels, and
the latter John, Luke, and Mark. MS. A, ii. 22 contains at the
beginning and end portions of a still older copy of the Gospels.

The most ancient MS. in the Library, however, is A, iv. 19,
a Latin Ritual with an interlinear Anglian version added at a
later time, which Wanley ascertained to be in the same hand-
writing as that in the Lindisfarne Gospels, namely, Aldred the
priest. It was known as the Prayer-book of Alfred the
Great, doubtless, as Raine says, from a mistake between
the names Alfred and Aldred. This book contains additions in
another hand, and is described in Rud's Cat. of the Durham

186 .. . 18. — In Murray's Guide to Kent it is said that

^ Op. cit, ch. xxii. ^ Reginald, ch. Ivii. ^ Op. cit. ch. xl,

* See Raine, St. Cuthberht^ 34 and 35, note.
VOL. III. — 25

386 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

fragments of St, Eanswitha's monastery still remain in the
vicarage garden at Folkestone. Miss Arnold-Forster says the
town seal still bears a figure of the Saint carrying two fish in a
half loop. She adds that a second dedication to the Saint occurs
in the dedication of a little church at Brenzett, between Rye
and Romney.^

195 .. . 36. — In MS. D of the Historia Ecclesiastica of
Bede, in a fifteenth-century hand, Heiu is written above Bega as
if they were synonyms. Leland and others also identify them.
In the margin we read : " Sta. Bega anglice Seynt Bee qui locus
jam est cella monasterie Stae. Marie Ebor^ The twelfth-century
Life of the saint is MS. Cott. Faust. B, iv. Its author confesses
he had no reliable materials for the Life save the notice of the
miracles performed by her remains.

212 .. . 20. — According to Rudborne there was also
buried at Repton, Kynehardus, the brother of Sigeberht, King
of the West Saxons.^

The first Mercian King recorded to have been buried at
Repton was ^thelbald, who, according to " The Continuation of
Bede," our best authority, died in 757. The Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle and, following it, Florence put it in 750, and the latter
says he died at Secceswald (Seckington, in Warwickshire) and was
buried at Repton. Repton was captured by the Danes in 874,
when we can hardly doubt that as usual they utterly ruined the
church and its contents. The former was rebuilt in the reign of
Eadgar. A discussion has arisen in regard to its crypt, as to
whether it does not belong wholly or in part to the earher
building.

I think the views of Mr. Irving and Dr. Cox in regard to it
will prevail. Dr. Cox holds {Notes on the Churches of Derby-
shire) that the vault had not been originally groined and vaulted,
and that the outer walls with their nearly obliterated chapels or
recesses and their remarkable cornice belong to the old lower
chancel or crypt of the celebrated Repton monastery, destroyed
by the Danes in 874, while the groin and its sustaining pillars
belong to Eadgar's time, when the church was re-dedicated to
St. Wistan, who lived in the second half of the eighth century.
Cnut transferred his relics from Repton to Evesham.^ Others
have argued that the crypt belongs entirely to Eadgar's reign.

I have contented myself with giving a ground plan of the
crypt and a view of the columns.

' Op. cit. ii. 357. "^ Aiiglia Sacra^ i. 196. * Hardy, Cat., i. 473.

nepson

— -W-— •'•-"■J

l-l M l-l l-l FT

Plan of the Cryi-t at Repton.

[/W. in., facing p. 386

Interior of thk East End of thi-: Church at CouiiRiixH-:.

[Fo/. ///.,/ac/ni;/>. 386.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 387

There is another church which several good judges have
considered to be at least in part of an early Saxon date, namely,
that of Saint Andrew at Corbridge. It is first definitely men-
tioned by Simeon of Durham under the year 786.^ Mr. Hodges,
in his paper on "The Pre-Conquest Churches of Northumbria,"^
has discussed its date with considerable skill. The original church
consisted of a nave with a porticus or chapel porch at the west
end, over which latter was in later times built the modern tower.
Mr. Hodges thinks it was a foundation of St. Wilfrid's, and
that a portion of the walls of his church still remain.

213 . . . 31. — Thomas of Ely says of St. Huna : ^'' qui de
or dine Monachorum et Presbiter S. ^theldredae fuisse perhibetur^
He performed the funeral service over his mistress and after-
wards retired to a little island in the marshes called Huneya
after him. There he lived the life of an anchorite, and miracles
were performed at his grave.^ His stone coffin was afterwards
broken open, and his remains were abstracted and taken to Ely.

213 .. . 34. — In the Historia Eliensis Ely is described as
seven miles long from " Cotingelade " to " Litleporte " or to
Abbotesdelf, then called Biscopesdelf, and in breadth four miles
from Cherchewere to the lake of Straham {ad mare de Straham) \
with the adjacent islands {cum insulis per girum) beside {Dudin-
tone), which was outside the island, in which were villulae and
woods with their appendent islanders, together with some rich
pasture lands.

Attached to the island was also Chateriz, where there was an
abbey of nuns, the district (pagus) of Witleseya, i.e. Whittle-
sea, and the monks' abbey of Thorneia, i.e. Thorney. The
island formed two Hundreds in the county of Cambridge.
Its bounds were from the middle of the bridge of Detro as far as
Upwere, and from Biscopesdelf as far as the river by Burch {i.e.
Peterborough) which is called Nen, in the province of the Gyrvii.*
214 .. . 16. — At Cratendune, when Thomas of Ely wrote,^
was an old site (probably Roman) where iron utensils and royal
money had been found. At Ely ^theldrytha built a house
and then a town. There St. Augustine was reputed to have
built a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, with the help
of ^thelberht. It was said to have been destroyed under
Penda. The story is doubtless a fable.

^ Gesia Regum.

^ Reliquary y 893. ^ Anglia Sacra, i. 600.

* See Wharton, Anglia Sacra, i. xli. ^ See Wharton, xli. and xlii.

388 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

218 .. . 37. — Stukeley says that the Rev. J. Bentham, the
historian of Ely, copied the inscription at Haddenham when a
lad at Cambridge. It then formed the foot of a cross, and
ended with the word Amen.^

219 .. . 17. — The name of the isle of Sheppey, or Sheep's
Island, was a translation of its former name Malata, from the
British molht^ a sheep, whence the French niouton.

220 . . . 25. — Weedon is described as St. Werburgh's
palace, which she converted into a nunnery. It is now called
Weedon-on-the-Street, or Wedon Bee. Her steward, having been
cruel to her servant named Ailwoth, was punished. He after-
wards became a hermit, and was murdered and buried at Stowe,
near Buccabrok.

230 . . . 20. — Lullus sent to Abbess Cyneburga a present of
pepper and cinnamon. He also sent to Eadburga, Abbess of
Thanet, ^'' Storacis^J) et cinnamorni partem aliquam."^ Theophy-
lactus, Archdeacon of Rome, sent to Boniface some cinnamon,
^^ costum" (? a kind of pepper), and incense as a present to
Archbishop Boniface.

Since the first Appendix to this volume was written, the
important work of Miss Arnold-Forster on the dedications of
English churches has fallen into my hands. In it she has
discussed the lives of the English noble lady saints in an
interesting and detailed account. I propose to set out here
such facts about them as I had overlooked.

Speaking of St. Hilda, she points out that the church at
Whitby was not dedicated to her until the twelfth century, when
the great Benedictine monastery whose ruins we all know so
well was founded, and when it was dedicated to St. Peter and
St. Hilda. She adds that the ring of Hilda churches round
Whitby, most of them dating from the Norman period, were
probably possessions of the Benedictine House. Among them
was an old chapel with a monastic cemetery which once stood at
Middlesbrough, but has entirely disappeared. Near Whitby is
the village of Hinderwell, once called Hilderwell, after the Saint.
Irekirk, in Cumberland, where an early forest hermitage once
existed, is said to be a corruption of Hildkirk. Another church
at Lucker, in Northumberland, bears the Saint's name. In York-
shire are nine ancient dedications to her besides the Abbey of

^ Liber EliensiSy i. 8, note.
^ Mon. Mag.y no.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 389

Whitby ; while at South Shields and Hartlepool are two other
dedications.^

Of St. ^bbe, Miss Arnold -Forster says, inter alia,
that her fondness for building on headlands, or *' nabs " as they
are called in the North country dialect, has been noted in a local
rhyme showing the different situations favoured by the different
Northern saints, thus : —

"St. Abb, St. Helen, and St. Bey (Bee),
They a' built kirks whilk be near to the sea :
St. Abb's upon the nabs,
St. Helen's on the lea,
St. Bey's upon the Dunbar sands
Stands nearest to the sea."

St. Abbe's oldest foundation was doubtless the church at
Ebchester, on the Derwent, at the boundary line between
Northumberland and Durham, named after her and built in
the Roman Castrum in which she planted it. At Ferry Hill,
south of Durham, was a ruined chapel belonging to the monks
of Durham, doubtless built after the translation of the Saint and
dedicated to her and St. Nicholas. At Beadness, on the
Northumberland coast, not far from Bamburgh, is a headland
called Ebb's Nook, where was a cell of the Coldingham
Monastery. In far-off Oxford is a church dedicated to St. ^bbe
which is mentioned as early as 1005. Anthony a Wood notes
its dedication feast as being on 15th October. Another distant
memorial of her is a now-desecrated church at Shelswell,
Buckinghamshire, also dedicated to her.^

The next Abbess to be recalled is St. Milburga.^ Like St.
Werburga, she was credited with protecting the crops against
depredation by wild geese, etc. Hence a mediaeval rhyme
quoted by Mr. E. P. Brock in the British Arch. Journal^
vol. xli., says : —

*' If old dame Mil will our fields look over,
Safe will be corn and grass and clover ;
But if the old dame is gone fast to sleep,
Woe to our corn, grass, clover, and sheep."

A goose was the distinctive emblem of St. Milburga.

Besides those I have mentioned earlier,"* Miss Arnold-Forster
speaks of a church dedicated to her across the Welsh border at

^ Op. cit. ii. 396-401. ^ lb. 291-295.

' Vide ante, iii. 210-212. "* Ante, p. 211.

390 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Llairvello, in Brecknockshire. A colony of Cluniac monks went
from Wenlock to Paisley and built a church in the latter place to
her memory.^

Miss Arnold-Forster, in describing the various churches
dedicated to St. Audrey, especially recalls the magnificent
series of carvings in the capitals of the pillars supporting
the great lantern at Ely, representing scenes in the life of its
patron saint, who is also represented in a stained-glass window
in the same place, which, like the carvings just mentioned,
date from the twelfth century. She mentions twelve dedica-
tions altogether as recording the Saint, i.e. the parish of West
Quantoxhead, in Somersetshire, otherwise known as St. Audries ;
Hyssington, in Shropshire ; and Horley, in Oxfordshire ; while the
rest are either in East Anglia or have a special tie with Ely.
Formerly there were churches commemorating her at Thetford
in Norfolk, and Histon in Cambridgeshire ; a church at Norwich,
another at Mundham, in Norfolk ; Bishops Hatfield, in Hertford-
shire, connected with Ely since King Eadgar's time ; Totteridge,
in the same county ; West Halton, in Lincolnshire, on the
Humber near Wintringham, identified by Bentham in his Ely
with the Alftham of the legend. In the old chapel dedicated to
the Saint in Ely Place, Holborn (a relic of the London palace of
the Bishops of Ely, and now a Roman Catholic church), is still
exhibited a reliquary professing to contain a portion of the
incorruptible hand of the Saint, reported to have been found
a century ago in an old farmhouse belonging to the Duke of
Norfolk.2

I forgot to mention (which was a real oversight) that St.
Audrey, whose life was hardly exemplary, is commemorated in
the English Calendar in the Prayer Book on the 17th October,
being the only English female saint so honoured.

Of St. Sexburga's church at Sheppey, Miss Arnold-Forster
says it was specially known as *' the Minster," and more particularly
as Minster in Sheppey, to distinguish it from St. Mildred's
Minster in Thanet. In Henry the Second's reign it was re-
dedicated to SS. Mary and Sexburga.

In regard to St. Werburga's churches, Miss Arnold-Forster
identifies Trickingham with the modern Trentham. She adds
to the dedications mentioned by me, Spondon in Derbyshire,
where the church is dedicated to her jointly with the Virgin.
Warburton in Cheshire, it is suggested, is a corruption of
* Miss Arnold-Forster, op. cit. ii. 379-381. ' lb. 363-369.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 391

Werburgh's Town. In King John's time a monastery existed
there dedicated to God and SS. Mary and Werburgh. The name
of St. Werburga is of course most closely connected with Chester,
where William of Malmesbury says she and her mother Ermenilda
were both held in high honour. Her original monastery there was
destroyed by the Danes and apparently rebuilt by Eadgar. This
later foundation was dedicated to SS. Werburgh and Oswald.
In the time of William Rufus, regular Benedictine Canons were
substituted for some very irregular ones who were there before.^
It was then apparently that the double dedication came to an
end and each of the Saints had a separate church. St. Oswald's
is still one of the parish churches of the city, while the Abbey
Church continued to be dedicated to St. Werburga till Henry
the Eighth in 1520 rededicated it to Christ and the Blessed
Virgin Mary.'-^

Miss Arnold- Forster says of St. Mildred, that a raised green
path in a wooded lane near Minster is still called St. Mildred's
Lynd. Churches dedicated to her once existed at Oxford and
Ipswich, at Whippingham in the Isle of Wight, and in the City
of London, where two churches were known as St. Mildred,
Bread Street, and St. Mildred, Poultry. Her churches in Kent
are at Canterbury, Tenterden, Nurstead, and Preston.^

In regard to yEthelburga, the Abbess of Barking in Essex,
and the doubts of Bishop Stubbs about her having been the same
person as the saint to whom St. ^thelburga's Church in
Bishopsgate is dedicated, Miss Arnold-Forster points out the fact
of the proximity of this church to All Hallows, Barking, a well-
known City possession of the great monastic house down in
Essex. Its situation in " Bishopsgate," the very gate of the
City supposed to have been erected by Bishop Eorconwald, and
to have taken its name from him, strengthen the case in favour
of the Abbess of Barking.^

Miss Arnold-Forster devotes some pages to what I deem the
hopeless task of trying to resuscitate the personality of St. Osyth,
whom I left out of my memoir on the high-born Saxon ladies who
became nuns. I did so because I could make neither head nor
tail of the strange mass of contradictions involved in her whole
story, and which have not been removed by her champion's
chivalrous pleading. The case against her by Bishop Stubbs
seems to me overwhelming. She is first named in Malmesbury's

* Malmesbury, ii. 13. 2 gee Arnold-Forster, op. cit. ii. 377.

^ lb. p. 362. * Op. cit. ii. 384.

392 GOLDEN DAYS OF EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH

Gesta Pofttificum, which was completed in 1125, who mentions
Cic (now Chick) as the resting-place of " the blessed Osytha, a
virgin famous for miracles." Her wonderful " Life" occurred in
a lost work by John of Tinemouth called Sanctiiogium, written
about 1366, whence Capgrave copied it. It was taken by John
of Tinemouth from an anonymous life written later than
Maurice, Bishop of London, who was mentioned in it and who
flourished 1086-1108. We therefore know of no authority
at all for her existence before the twelfth century. Its contents
are literally impossible to reconcile with the facts of Anglo-Saxon
history, except by forsaking the methods of historical criticism.
They are admirably analysed by Stubbs, who says of them, inter
alia: "The Vita is burdened with prodigies. . . . The story
labours under incurable anachronisms defying all Suysken's art.^
. . . The saint is just a name imposed on the place to create
a fictitious sanctity for Bishop Richards' foundation. He ruled
from 1 108 to 1 1 28."

By inadvertence I have overlooked a story told by Bede in
the fourteenth chapter of the fifth book of his Historia Ecclesi-
astica, which deserves to be reported since it presents a phase of
the incredible bigotry which then and still dominates some of
the teachers of men. Bede says he knew "a brother" whom he
wished he had not known, and who was a smith (fabrile arte
singularis). He did not care to mention his name, but he lived
in a noble monastery, where he passed his days ignobly. Although
he had often been reproved and admonished by the elders and
brothers of the place, he took no heed of them, and they put up
with him patiently, for he was an excellent carpenter. He was
an habitual drunkard and dissolute in other ways, and instead of
going to church to sing and pray and hear the Word of Life with
the brethren, used to spend his time day and night in the work-
shop. Presently he fell sick, and being at his latter end, summoned
the brethren, and reported to them with much lamentation, and
like one damned, that he had seen hell open and Satan at the
bottom of the pit, with Caiaphas and others who had slain our
Lord, and had been condemned to avenging flames. "There,"
as he said, " I saw a place of eternal perdition prepared for me."
Thereupon the brethren again pressed him to repent while he
was in the flesh. He replied that he had no time now to change

^ i.e. the art of its very ingenious editor in the Acta Satictoriini for October,
vol. iii. p. 936.

CORRECTIONS AND NOTES 393

his life, for he had seen his judgment accomplished. He there-
upon died without the saving viaticum {si7ie viatico salutis)^
was buried in the remotest part of the cemetery, and no one
dared to say masses, or sing psalms, or even to pray for him.
This unhappy wretch, says Bede, saw his own person among the
fiends, so that despairing of salvation he might die the more
miserably, and so that many among the living might be saved by
contemplating his fate. "This happened lately," he adds, 'Mn
the province of the Bernicians, and being reported far and wide,
induced many to abandon their sins, which we hope may also be
the result of our narrative."

It is clear that the tendency to deal harshly with the im-
penitent was growing. Prayers for them, according to Ramsay,
were allowed in the early Church, but were forbidden in Theo-
dore's time.

INDEX

Aachen, ii. 261, 262.

Abba's hill, ii. 120.

Abbendun, see Abingdon.

Abbesses, lay, i. Ii.

Abbon, St., ii. 264.

Abbot, head of Lindisfarne, i. 25 : of
several monasteries, i. xlii.

Abbots, iii. 253, 254, 261 : appointed
by Wilfrid, ii. 233, 250 : attendance
at synods, iii. 250 : elected by
monks, i. cxliii, cxliv : Irish, hered-
itary caste, i. xxviii, 18, 19 : of
high birth, ii. 303 ; iii. 366 : re-
lated to founders, iii. 349 : rival, of
Lindisfarne, iii. 137.

Abd Almalik, Khalif, ii. 326, 339.

Abdications, ii. 374, 377, 421, 422,
426, 429, 432.

Abercorn (/Ebbercurnig), ii. 103,
104, 106, III ; iii. 199, 311, 320.

Abernethy, ii. 40.

Abingdon, i. cxi, cxliv-cxlvi ; ii.
1 19-123, 428, 432, 442, 451, 501 ;
ill. 364.

Abingdon Abbey Annals^ i. cxv.

Abortion, iii. 248.

Abraham, Abbot, i. 172.

Abson, ii. 499.

Abstinence, ii. 408.

Abu Sarh, Governor of Egypt, i.

Abundantius, Bishop of Palermo, ii.

Abyssinians, ii. 82.

Acca{Acta, Ecce),Bishop of Hexham,
i. xc, xciii, xcviii, ex, cxl, cliii,
clxxxvi, 65, 368 ; ii. 117, 203, 215,
234, 240, 402, 511, 515 ; iii. 10,
38, 140-148, 312, 342: crosses, ii.
Ill ; iii. 144-147.

Acha, i. 75 ; iii. 204, 349.

Acircius, see Aldfrid, King.

Ackworth, iii. 59.

Acrostic, iii. 233.

Acta, see Acca.

Acta Sanctorum, i. clxxvi.

Actors, ii. 336.

Adalbert, St., i. 74.

Adalgisl, major-domo, i. 300, 301,

Adam of Stamford, iii. 78.

Adamnan, i. xcvi, ex; ii. 107, 490;

iii. 137, 490 : his friendship with

Aldfrid, ii. 154-156, 368, 310 : Life

of St. Columba, i. clxxvi.
Adamnan, monk of Coldingham, i.

Ixii ; iii. 206.
Adana, iii. 308.
Adbaruae, see Barrow.
Adbert, i. cliii.
Adda, i. 123 ; iii. 201.
Addi, of North Burton, iii. 157.
Addingham, i. 133.
Addula, iii. 201.
Adela, Abbess, i. cxiv.
Adelard, sub-regulus, i. cxliii, cliv.
Adeodatus, Bishop of Leucorum, ii,

Adeodatus, Pope, i. cxxvi, clxxxi ;

ii. 64 ; iii. 348.
Adestancastre, Adescancastre, see

Exeter.
Ad Murum, see Walbottle.
Adolana, iii. 201.
Adon, i. 297.
Adrian, see Hadrian.
Adtwifyrdi, ii. 105.
Adulf, Bishop of Utrecht, i. 137.
Adulf, King of East Anglia, see

Aldwulf.
Adultery, iii. 247, 248, 257, 261.
^anfleda. Queen, i. 378 ; iii. 193.
i^bba (^bbe, Eabbe, Ebba), St., i.

cxxxv-cxxxvii, 67 ; ii. 37, 99, 100,

126; iii. 12, 14, 70, 86, 204-207,

346, 364, 389.
^Ebbercurnig, see Abercorn.
M.zz\, Bishop of Dunwich, i. clxxxiv,

310; ii. 419,
Adbert, i. cliii.
iEdbryht, see Eadberht.
.^ddi (Heddi, Stephen), i. cviii, ex,

166, 217, 350, 353, 359, 370, 375,
395

396

INDEX

378, 379, 380, 383 ; iii. 143 : as an

authority, iii. 346.
^delhun, ii. 133.
yEdgils, iii. 207.
iEdh Finn, Prince of Connaught, i.

lOI.

vEdhan, Bishop of Magheo, i. 198.

iEdwin (Edwine), King of Northum-
bria and Saint, i. xxvii, cvi, cxxv,
clxxxiii, 3-6, 9, II, 34, 41, 47-49,
54, 55, 74-76, 131, 133, 157, 226,
240; ii. 382, 418, 500 ; iii. 3, 185-

188, 193, 200, 201, 204, 205, 303,

349, 350-
Edwine, Bishop of Mayo, i. 198.
^d-, see also ^th-, Ed-, and Ead-.
^ga, major-domo, i. 294, 300, 301.
^gelric, see ^thelric.
i^gfrid, King of the Humbroneutii, i.

clxvi.
^Ifdrytha, ii. 494.
-Piffled, Queen, iii. 98.
yElfguin, see yElfwine.
^Ifleda (Rifled, Elfled), Abbess of

Whitby, i. cxiv ; ii. 107, 108, 157,

219, 223, 225, 226, 506 ; iii. 87,

189, 193, 197-203, 265, 364.
Alfred, i. clxii.

yElfric, father of Osric, i. 5.

^Ifric, Archbishop of York, iii. 163.

^Ifric, poet, i. cxiii, 101-107, no,

112, 242, 243 ; iii. 130.
^Ifrid Westou (Westoue, Westowe),

i. 85 ; iii. 9, 65, 70.
^Ifsige, Abbot, iii. 209.
^Ifthritha (^.Ifthrytha, Elfrida,

Elfthritha), Abbess of Repton, ii.

408 ; iii. 212.
i^lfwine (^Ifguin, Ailuine), son of

Oswy, i. 226, 227, 377 ; ii. 42, 49,

50, 55; iii. 349, 358.
^Ifwinsford, ii, 41.
yElfwold, King of East Angles, i.

cxi.
^lla, i. 75, 79.
Aelm, i. 332.

yElred of Rievaulx, see Ailred.
-^Istan, Abbot, iii. 228.
-^ona, i. 217, 383.
^onfleda, Queen, see Eanfleda.
^sc, river, see Exe.
i^scesdune, see Ashdown.
^sculf, Bishop of Dunwich, ii. 419.
^scwine, King of Wessex, i. clxxxiii ;

ii- 32, 35, 50, 118, 119.
^stune, i. 332.
Aet-Austin, i. clvi.
Aet Bearwe, see Barrow.
Aet Hoe, i. cxxxix ; see also Cliffe.

y^thelbald. King of Mercia, i. cxl,

cliii, clvii, clxiv, clxxiv, clxxxiii,

clxxxiv ; ii. 380, 381, 407, 413-

416, 504 ; iii. 367, 386.
i^thelbald, see Eadbald, King of

Kent.
yEthelberga, see ^Ethelburga.
/Ethelberht, King of Kent, i. 40,

239-242, 244, 306 ; iii. 185, 387.
iEthelberht ii.. King of Kent, i.

cxxxix ; ii. 358,
Ethelberht, son of Eormenred, i.

244, 245, 247 ; iii. 346.
/Ethelberht, son of Oshere, i. clx,

clxiv.
Ethelberht, see also Albert.
Ethelburga, wife of King Edwin,

and nun, i. 296 ; iii. 185.
Ethelburga (Hedilburga), St., Abbess

of Barking, i. cvii, clxviii ; ii. 34,

42, 477; iii. 54, 231, 232, 391.
Ethelburga, Abbess of Brie, i. 121 ;

iii. 224.
Ethelburga (Eadburga, CEdilburga),

Abbess of Hackness, ii. 220 ; iii.

201-203, 212.
Ethelburga, Abbess, daughter of

Elfred, i. clxii.
Ethelburga (Sexburga), wife of Ini,

i. cliv, civ; ii. 427, 431, 432.
Ethelburga(Edilburga,iEthelburga),

wife of Wihtred, i. cxxxvii, clxix ;

ii. 358.

Etheldreda (Audrey, Edilthryda,
Etheldrytha, Edilthrytha, Ethel-
thryth), Saint and Queen, i. clxx,
cxxxix, 121, 358, 367; ii. 36-39,
128, 186, 418; iii. 64, 206, 212-
222, 225, 347, 362, 387, 390:
virginity of, ii. 36-38.

Etheldreda, St. (sister of Germinus),

i. 137.
Etheldrytha, Queen (mythical), i. cl.
Etheldrytha, wife of Athelstane, ii.

449.
Etheldrytha, see also Etheldreda.
Ethelfleda, Lady of the Mercians, i.

64.
Ethelfleda, St., iii. 88.
Ethelfleda, wife of Penda, see Alch-

fleda.
Ethelfrid (Ethelfrith, Ethelfrid),

King of Bernicia, i. xxvii, 5 ; ii.

37, 509 ; iii. 187, 204, 205, 348.
Ethelgytha, Abbess, iii. 207.
Ethelheard, Archbishop, i. clxvi.
Ethelheard (/Edilheard, /Edilard),

King, i. cliv, civ, clx, clxiii, clxiv ;

ii. 501.

INDEX

397

^thelhere (Edric, ^therric), King of
East Anglia, i. clxxxiii, I2i, 122,
125, 126, 128, 137, 138; ii. 417,
418 ; iii. 188, 356.

yEthelhilda (/Edilhild), Abbess, i. 70 ;
ii, 382, 401.

/^thelhun, ii. 401, 403, 404.

/Ethelmund (/Ethelmod), son of
Oshere, i. clxiv-clxvi.

yEthelmund, King of South Saxons, i.

137-

/Ethelred (Ethelred), Abbot of Bard-
ney, i. clxxv.

Ethelred (.'Edilred, Ethelred), King
of Mercia, i. Iviii, cxxvii, cxxix,
cxxxii, cxxxv, cxxxvi, cxii, clvi,
clviii-clxii, clxiv-clxvi, clxviii,
clxix,clxxii-clxxv, clxxxiii, clxxxvi,
62-64, 227, 331 ; ii. 32, 41, 42,
47-49, 74, 90, loi, 102, 125-127,
157, 158, 161, 174, 184, 186, 202,
205, 210, 217, 218, 357, 360, 362,
373-375, 380-382, 384, 385, 387,
389, 390, 392, 393, 398, 424, 425 ;

iii. 200, 209, 220, 348, 367.
Ethelred II., King of England, ii.

396.
Ethelred (son of Eormenred), i. 244,

245, 247 ; iii. 346.
yEthelric (/Egelric, Ailric), i. clxiii,

clxiv.
yEtheluch, i. clxiv.
^thelwalch (/Ethelwald), King of

South Saxons, i. cxlvii, 327, 335 ;

ii. 113, 117, .133, 148; iii. 363.
^thelwald. King of East Anglia, i.

clxxxiii, 122, 137, 152; ii. 417.
/Ethelwald, see also yEthelwalch,

^thelwold.
yEthelweard, sub-regulus, i. clx, clxii-

clxiv.
^thelwine. Bishop of Lindsay, i.

clxxxvi, 70; ii. 382, 401, 403.
^thelwine, see also Edilwine.
i^thelwold, iii. 202.
^Ethelwold (/Ethelwald), pupil of

Aldhelm, i. cxiv ; ii. 452, 458-460 ;

iii. 370, 373, 383.
i^thelwold, St., Bishop of Win-
chester, i. cxxxii, cxxxiii, 46, 137 ;

iii. 70, 104, 105, 219, 220.
.(^thelwold, see also /Ethel walch,

/Ethelwald, Oidilwald.
^thelwulf (Ethelwulf), King of

Wessex, i. cxlix, 245 ; ii. 438, 496,

497.
-Ethelwulf, poet, ii. 505 ; iii. 113,
131, 133, 135: " De Abbatibus,"
L cxii ; iii. 346.

/Etherric, see /Ethelhere.

/Ethuin, monk, iii. 135.

/Etla, Bishop of Dorchester, ii. 440,

441 ; iii. 193.
/Et-Stanforda, i. 183,
/Etswinapathe, ii. 197.
iEtte, Abbess, i. cxxxix.
Affinity, iii. 258, 259.
Africa, i. xviii, 230, 232, 234 ; ii. 339 ;

iii. 360.
Agapa; forbidden, ii. 337.
Agapetse, iii. 182.
Agatho, Pope, i. cxxvi, cxxix, cxxxii,

cxxxiii, clxxiii, clxxxi, 186, 188 ;

ii. 67-73, 76, 1^, 82, Zi, Zy, 89,

158, 198, 200, 205, 206, 208-210,

252, 343, 344 ; iii- I94, 358, 365.

Agde, Council of, iii. 183.

Agen, i. 295.

Agesmund, i. cxxxvii.

Agilberht (Agilbert, Albert), Bishop
of Dorchester, later of Paris, i.
clxxxiv, 184, 186, 188, 195, 210,
249, 306, 321-326, 366; ii. 10, 67,
440; iii. 194, 357, 358.

Agilulf, King of the Lombards, ii.
267.

Agincourt won by saint's prayers,
iii. 166.

Agledulfus, see Aldwulf.

Agricola, Bishop of Chalons, ii. 258.

Aidan, King of Scots, iii. 205.

Aidan, St., Bishop of Lindisfarne,
i. xli, ciii, clxxxv, 16-34, 54, 98,
99, 158, 199, 206, 213 ; ii. 53, 160,
171, 172, 512; iii. 4, 5, 57, 106,
186, 189, 192, 196, 197, 304, 311,
340, 347,. 351, 364: parentage, i.
18, 19 : Bishop of Lindisfarne, i. 19,
20 : founds a school, i. 30 : ordina-
tion, i. 31, 32 : knew little English,
i. 32 : character, i. 19, 33, 34, 95-97 :
buries St. Oswald's head, i. 58 :
miracles, i. 76-78, 126 : gives a
horse to a beggar, i. 81, 82 : death,
i. 94: relics, i. 94, 95, 99, 198;
iii' 57> 352 : dedications, i. 98 ;

."^- 35I-.
Aidan, priest, iii. 70.
Aidan, worthies of the name, i. 19.
Aileran the Wise, i. 322.
Ailmer, Abbot, i. cxxxvii.
Ailnoth (Ailwoth), iii. 222, 388.
Ailred (/Elred) of Rievaulx, iii. 36,

65 : Life of Si. ALtheldrythay iii.

.347.
Ailric, see /Ethelric.
Ailuine, see yElfwine.
Ailward, Bishop, ii. 395.

398

INDEX

\

Ailwoth, see Ailnoth.

Aix, ii. 9.

Alban, St., i. cxxxii.

Alberht (Alberct), Abbot, ii. 243,

320.
Alberht, Bishop of Dunwich, i.

clxxxiv ; ii. 419, 420.
Albert (^thelberht, Ethelberht),
Archbishop of York, i. xci ; ii.
366.
Albert, see also Agilberht, Aldberht.
Albinus, Abbot, i. xcvi, ciii-cv, 370-

372; ii. 161.
Alcester, ii. 394.
Alcfrid, see Alchfrid.
Alchfleda (^thelfleda), wife of Penda,

i. 123, 227 ; iii. 356.
Alchfrid (Alcfrid, Alcred, Alchfrith),
King of Deira, i. clxxxiii, 58, 122,
123, 127, 134, 168, 183-186, 207,
208, 210, 221-223, 336-338, 340,
347, 348, 367; ii. 41, 86, 387,
509 ; iii. 6, 8, 209, 350, 358.
Alchmund, ii. 240.
Alcluith, i. Ixxxvi, 129.
Alcred, King, see Alchfrid.
Alcuin, St., i. xxxii, xxxix, Ixxxix,

xcvii, xcviii, cxiii, 198 ; iii. 20.
Aldberht (Aldbert), Abbot of Glaston-
bury, i. cliii ; ii. 501.
Aldberht, see also Albert.
Aldbryht the exile, ii. 431.
Aldfrid (Acirius, Aldfrith, Ealdfrid),
Kingof Northumbria, i. Ii, xci, cvii,
ex, cxxix, clxxxiii; ii. 104, 149-157,
180, 197, 205, 210, 218-222, 226,
227, 439, 485, 502, 504, 507, 509,
512; iii. 122, 129, 131, 154, 198,
199, 201, 235, 347, 356, 376 : acces-
sion, ii. 149: poetry, ii. 150, 151 :
exile, ii. 149-155 : friendship with
Adamnan, ii. 154-156: illness and
death, ii. 219, 220.
Aldgida (Aldgitha), nun, ii. 477 ; iii.

232.
Aldgisl, King of Friesland, ii. 56.
Aldgitha, see Aldgida.
Aldhame, i. Ixxii ; iii. 119.
Aldhelm, St., i. xxxii, xxxiii, xxxv,
xxxviii, xliii, Ixxxviii, xci, cxi, cxiii,
cxiv, cxxviii, cxl-cxliv, cxlviii, clii,
cliii, clxvii, clxviii, clxxvi, clxxxv ;
ii. 125, 153, 154, 161, 215, 364,
365. 367, 394, 406, 442, 444, 445,
447, 451-500; iii- 39, 122, 184,
233, 234, 348, 383 •• '-IS Abbot of
Malmesbury, ii. 461-465 : auster-
ities, iii. 373, 374 : authorities for
life, ii. 452 : as Bishop of Sher-

borne, ii. 490-495 : canonisation,
ii. 498 : churches, ii. 465, 493 :
crosses, ii. 496 : De Laudibus
Virginitatis., ii. 477-484 ; iii.
373 : death, ii. 495, 496 : dedica-
tions, ii. 499 : holy wells, ii.
499 : knowledge and learning, ii.
455 ; iii. 368-370 : letters to yEthel-
wold and Winfrid, ii. 459-461 :
from Cellan, ii. 467, 468, 474, 475 :
to Eahfrid, ii. 465-467 : to Ger-
untius, ii. 487-490 : to Hasdde, ii.
475-477 : to Osgitha, ii. 484, 485 :
Liber de Septuario, ii. 485, 486 :
mental gifts, iii. 374 : miracles, ii.
468, 469, 493, 495, 498-500 : as
musician, ii. 456; iii. 370, 371:
parentage, ii. 453 : personal de-
scription, iii. 370 : poetry, ii. 455,
456, 462-464, 472-474 : pupil of
Maidulf, and at Canterbury, ii.
454, 457 : pupils, ii. 457 : priest,
ii. 461 : relics, ii. 496-499 : style,
ii. 466, 467; iii. 371-379: visit to
Rome, ii. 468-471.
Aldhun (Aldune), Abbot, iii. 235,

236, 383-
Aldhun, Bishop of Durham, iii. 64.
Aldingburne, i. cxlviii.
Aldingham, iii. 58.
Aldred, iii. no, 118, 191, 385.
Aldred, Archbishop, see Ealdred.
Alduini, Abbot of Bardney, see Eald-

wine. Bishop.
Aldulf, see Aldwulf.
Aldune, see Aldhun.
Aldwin, Bishop, see Ealdwine.
Aldwin, Prior of Winchcombe, ii.

278, 280.
Aldwulf (Aldulf, Eadulf, Ealdwulf,

HaldwulQ, King of East Anglia,

i. clxvi, clxxxiii, 122, 125 ; ii. 74,

362, 418, 419 ; iii. 188, 202, 203,

212, 214, 356.
Aldwulf, Bishop of Rochester, i. cv,

clxi, clxxxv ; ii. 364.
Alexander, King of Scotland, iii. 76.
Alexander iii.. Pope, iii. 339.
Alexandria, i. 231, 280; ii. 80, 330,

334-
Alfham (Alftham), iii. 213, 390.
Alfred the Great, i. ci, cii, 80 ; ii.

112, 432, 439, 496; iii. 57, 58,

271, 369, 385-
Alfred, see Alured.
Alfrith the master, see Aluhfrith.
Alftham, see Alfham.
Alfwin, brother of Ecgfrid, ii. 127.
Alfwin, priest, ii. 278.

INDEX

399

Alfwold, Bishop of Sherborne, iii.

Alfwold, King of East Anglia, i.

clxxxiii, clxxxiv ; ii. 419.
Alfwold, son of yluhelhere, i. 122.
Algeis, iii. 352.
Algitha, ii. 396,

Allegory in Bede's work, iii. 342, 343.
Allermoor, ii. 442.
Almaric, ii. 389.
Almond, ii. 109.
Alms, iii. 252.

Alms given by Oswald, i. 33, 34.
Aln, river, ii. 105, 513.
Alne, ii. 391.
Alnmouth, ii. 222, 503.
Alnwick, ii. 513.
Alphege, St., iii. 54.
Alps, i. 298.
Alresford, i. clxvii.
Alric, Bishop, i. clx.
Alric, son of Wihtred, i. cxxxix ; ii.

358-
Alstan, priest, iii. 21 1.

Altar, iii. 132.

Altar, portable, Cuthberht's, iii. 100,

lOI.

Altar, western position, i. 374.

Altermiinster, i. 71.

Altham, see Alfham.

Altsig, Abbot, i. xcix.

Aluhfrith (Alfrith) the master, ii. 218,

232.
Alured (Alfred), iii. 147, 207.
Alweo, ii. 380.
Alwin, see Ealdwine.
Amand, St., i. 297.
Ambreslege, i. clxii.
Ambrose, St., i. 6^ , 277, 377; ii.

347;

America, South, i. Ixxiii.

Ammonites at Whitby, iii. 197.

Amounderness, i. 378.

Amru, governor of Egypt, i. 231.

Amulets, iii. 10.

Anastasius il., Emperor, i. clxxxii.

Anastasius, Patriarch of Jerusalem,

ii. 81, 330.
Anatolius, i. 19, 192 ; ii. 488.
Ancaret's Isle, i. 333.
Ancarig, see Thorney.
Anchorites, i. 24, 255, 258, 333, 407-

412; iii. 20-31, 49-51, 129, 130.
Andelys, iii. 183.
Andhun, ii. 133.
Andreas, son of Trollus, i. 235.
Andred forest, ii. 133.
Andredesey, ii, 443.
Andredeswuude, ii, II2 ; iii. 363.

Andrew, Bishop of Crete, ii. 342.
Andrew, Bishop of Ostia, ii. 84.
Andrew, monk, declines bishopric,

^- 253-

Andronius, St., iii. 29.

Angenlabesham, i. clxviii.

Anglesea, i. 15,

Anglians settle Cumbria, i. 132, 133.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, i. cxvii ; iii.
346.

Anglo-Saxon language becomes ob-
solete, iii. 305.

Angus, King of Scots, iii. 366.

Animals tamed by saints, ii. 413 ;
iii. 22-29, 186, 205, 206.

Animals, use or rejection of, iii. 256,

257-
Anna (Onna), King of East Anglia, i.
cv, clxxxii, clxxxiii, 46, 1 14, 120-
122, 131, 138, 152, 245, 320; ii. 36,
417 ; iii. 188, 206, 222, 224, 225,

356.

Annemund, Archbishop of Lyons, i.
163, 165, 167, 303.

Annesi, i. 256.

"Anno Domini" method of dating,
i. xxxiv, xciv, cxxii, cxxxiv,
cxxxviii, cxli, cxlii, cxliv, cxlviii,
cl-clvi, clviii, clxiii-clxv, clxvii,
clxviii, clxxi, clxxii, clxxiv.

Anthony of Padua, St., iii. 28, 29.

Antibes, i. 169.

Antioch, ii. 68, 79-8i, 330, 334, 348,
349-

Antipopes, i. 237.

Antony, Triumvir, i. 58.

Apostasy of English kings, i. xxv,
6, 7. 9, 95, 138,224,241; ii. 422;
iii- 357-

Appleby, Thomas de, Bishop of Car-
lisle, iii. 41.

Apsimar, see Tiberius III.

Apulia, iii. 167.

Aquileia, i. 238 ; ii. 349.

Aquino, iii. 349.

Aquitaine, i. 294, 295, 300, 301.

Arabs, i. 229 ; ii. 326; iii. 315.

Aran Islands, iii. 353.

Aranmore, iii. 353.

Arbogast, Bishop of Strassburg, ii.
58.

Arcencale, i. clxx.

Archarius, Prior, i. 87.

Archbishop, a metropolitan, ii. 9.

Archbishop, not a metropolitan, ii. 5»

Archbishop, first, of all England, ii.

^59-
Archimandrite (Abbot), i. cxliv ; ii.

474, 494 ; iii- 373-

400

INDEX

Architecture, i. xxix, clxxvi, 200-

203 ; ii. 258-262 ; see also

Churches.
Architectus, ii. 258 ; iii. 365.
Arcuulf, Bishop, i. xcvi, ex; ii. 156.
Ardennes, i. 297.
Arianism and Arians, i. xix, xx, 259-

263 ; ii. 2, 3, 16.
Arithmetic, iii. 369.
Aries, i. 365 ; ii. 8, 9, 69, 361 ; iii.

176.
Armado, iii. 375'
Armagh, ii. 151.
Armenia, i. 229, 232 ; ii. 326, 327,

338.
Armenians, ii. 82, 333.
Arno, Archbishop of Salzburg, i.

xcix.
Arnold-Forster, Studies in Church

Dedications, i. clxxvi ; iii. 388-

392.
Arnulf, i. 300.

Art, ecclesiastical, ii. 262-272.
Artemius, ii. 342.
Arthur, King, iii. 384.
Arts in England, i. xxxvi ; see also

Architecture, Churches, Music,

Painting.
Aruald, ii. 136.

Aruini, son of Eadwulf, ii. 503.
Arundel, X,ord, i. 338.
Ascairico, ii. 268.
Asceticism, i. xxii, liv, Ix-lxii, 255,

257, 284, 285 ; iii. 49, 50, 129,

152, 153;.
Aserdyke, ii. 410.
Ash tree, miraculous, iii. 213.
Ashdown (/Escedune), i. 327.
Ashlafardhal, iii. 269.
Ashlof, iii. 269.
Asia, ii. 327.
Asia Minor, i. 232, 261 ; ii. 339; iii.

313, 314, 360.
Aslackton, iii. 17 1.
Assandune, iii. 58.
Asterius, Archbishop of Milan, i. 35-

37.

Astrology, u. 445, 476 ; m. 370.
Astronomy, ecclesiastical, iii. 369.
Atcham, see Attingham.
Athanasius, i. 261, 264 ; ii. 347.
Athelney, iii. 58, 361.
Athelstane, King, i. xcii, cxli ; ii.

449, 497 ; iii. 63, 163-165, 221.
Athelstane, King (mythical), i. cl.
Athens, i. 233, 254, 255, 287.-
Attingham (Atcham), iii. 384,
Auberlus, Bishop of Cambray, i.

116.

Audcenus, see Ouen.

Audrey, St. , see ^.theldreda.

Augustine, St., Archbishop of Canter-
bury, i. xxiv, xxxviii, xl, xlvii,
cxxii, I, 24, 31, 37, 152, 156,
239, 252-254, 265, 289, 306 ; ii.
10, II, 167, 169-173, 175, 293 ;
iii. 214, 226, 303, 340, 359, 360,

387.
Augustine, St., Bishop of Hippo,

i. Ixiii, Ixxx, 182, 305, 339, 347 ;

iii. 176.
Augustinian mission, i. xxiii-xxv.
Aulus Plautius, i. 41.
Aurelian, Rule of, i. 175, 176.
Aurelius Victor, i. 7.
Austerfeld Synod, i. ex ; ii. 196-

202, 207, 225.
Austrasia, i. 294, 297, 300, 301 ; ii.

57- . . .

Austrasia, Kings of, i. clxxxi,

clxxxii.

Austria, ii. 63.

Autharius, ii. 268.

Auxerre, ii. 9.

Avalon, see Glastonbury.

Avars, i. 298, 299 ; ii. 59-62.

Aventine, i. 237.

Avesnes, iii. 352.

Avon, river (England), i. cxlii, civil ;

ii. 392, 393» 395> 456.
Avon, river (Linlithgow), ii. 506.
Axon, E., i. clxxx.
Aycliffe, iii. 142, 316.
Ayrshire, i. 36 ; iii. 37.

Baccanhelde, i. cxxxviii-cxl ; ii. 363 ;
see also Bapchild.

Bacula, Abbot, ii. 235.

Badoriceheat's, i. clxxii.

Baducing, Biscop, see Benedict
Biscop.

Baduwin, see Baeduuine.

Badwin, Presbyter and Abbot, ii.
218.

Bccda, j-^ijBede.

Bteduuine (Baduwin, Badwini, Bead-
win, Bedwin), Bishop of Elmham,
i. civ, clxxxiv, 310 ; ii. 419.

Bsegia, i. clvii.

Baetica, ii. 4.

Bagley Wood, ii. 120.

Baker, monastic, ii. 257.

Baldechildis, Saint and Queen, see
Bathildis.

Baldhelm, priest, iii. 13.

Baldred (Balred, Balthere, Baiter),
St., i. Ixxii, Ixxiii ; iii. 16, 70, iiS,
"9, 131-

INDEX

401

Baldred, sub-regulus, i. cxlii, cxliii,

cli, cliii, cliv, clxv.
Baldwin li., Emperor, ii. 274.
Baldwin, goldsmith, i. 87, 88.
Balkans, revolt of Slavs, i. 232.
Ballantrae, iii. 36.
Balred, see Baldred.
Baiter, see Baldred.
Balthard, Abbot of Hersfeld, iii. 19 1,

192.
Balthere, see Baldred.
Baluster shafts in early churches, ii.

297, 298.
Bamberg, i. 71, 72.
Bamborough, i. 9, 22, 23, 34, 58, 61,

62, 98, 126, 130; ii. 98, 108, 221,

226 ; iii. 21, 43, 351 : saved by

prayer, i. 78.
Bamburgh, see Bamborough.
Bangor, monks murdered, i. 48.
Bangor (Ulster), i. 321.
Banna, see Penda.
Banners : St. Cuthberht's, iii. 79-82,

88; St. John of Beverley, iii. 164,

166, 168 ; St. Wilfrid, iii. 166, 168.
Bapchild, i. cxl ; ii. 363 ; see also

Baccanhelde.
Baptism, ii. 139, 335 ; iii. 160, 241,

244, 245, 251, 252, 256, 261.
Bardanes Philippicus, ii. 341, 342.
Bardney (Bardeney), i. clxxv, 35,

62-64, 70; ii. 217, 374, 382, 401,

411 ; iii. 184.
Barking, i. cvii, clxxii ; ii. 42, 421,

439; iii. 184, 185, 211, 229-234,

368, 370.
Barrow (Adbaruse, Aet Bearwe,

Barwe, Bearwe), Lincolnshire, i.

356; ii. 33, 411.
Bartholomew, St., i. Ix.
Barton on Humber, i. 356.
Barton, Richmondshire, iii. 59, 61.
Barwe, see Barrow.
Basil, Bishop of Gortyna, ii. 78, 330.
Basil, St., i. xxii, xxix, 253-286 ; ii.

163, 165, 174, 175, 179; iii. 175,

183 : Rule of, i. 267-286.
Basil, see also Bosel.
Basques, i. 295, 297.
Bass, mass priest, i. 317.
Bath, i. clxiv, clxv ; ii. 388.
Bathildis (Baldechildis, Bathild),

Queen and Saint, i. 116, 166, 167,

302, 303 ; ii. 266 ; iii. 223, 354.
Baths for nuns, iii. 179.
Battersea, i. clxxii.
Battle, i. cxxvii, cxxxiii ; iii. 210.
Bavaria, i. 298, 299.
Bayeux, i. 321.

VOL. III. — 26

Bayworth, ii. 120.

Beadncss, iii. 389.

Beads, St. Cuthberht's, iii. 23.

Beadufrid, Abbot, i. cxlix ; ii. 448.

Beadwin, see Bacduuine.

Beanus, Bishop, i. 109, 116.

Beardsachna, Abbot, iii. 367.

Bearwe, see Barrow.

Beavers in river Hull, iii. 155.

Bebba, i. 61.

Beccel, ii. 413.

Beckbury, iii. 211.

Becket, Thomas, ii. 198, 206, 251.

Beda, son of Bubba, i. 160.

Bedanhefade, ii. 35.

Beddanburgh, ii. 98.

Beddanham, i. clxviii, clxxii.

Bede and anno domini, i. xciv, cxxii,
cxxxiv ; iii. 345: Codex Amiatinus^
iii. 321, 326, 327, 328: and the
plague, i. Ixxiv; ii. 307, 308; iii. 9:
and Wearmouth, ii. 279 : as histori-
an, i. xxxii, 319 : autograph Cassio-
dorus, iii. 337, 340 : charged with
heresy, i. Ixxxix ; ii. 229 : death,
ii. 508, 516 : defends pictures, iii.
365 : Ecclesiastical History^ i. x,
xcix-cxi ; ii. 513, 514; iii. 345:
epitaph at Jarrow, iii. 341 : friend-
ship with Acca, iii. 142-144 : with
Albinus, ii. 370, 371 : withEadfrid,
iii. 119, 120: with Herebald, i.
84 : with Husetberht, iii. 150 : his
chair, ii. 292, 293 : influence on
Milton, iii. 272 : invitation by
Sergius, i. cxxix : learns singing,
ii. 274 : Lives of Cuthberht, i. xci-
xciii ; iii. 63, 345 : manuscripts, i.
73 ; iii. 329 : mistakes, i. 225 ;
iii. 358 : named by Dante, i. Ixxxv ;
iii. 340, 341 : on the monastic life,
i. xliii-lv : poem on ^theldrytha,
iii. 217, 218 : pupil of St. John of
Beverley, iii. 152 : reason for writ-
ing commentaries, iii. 342 : relics,
iii. 70, 107: "saint," iii. 90:
''Venerable," i. Ixxxv: on asceti-
cism, i. Ixii : views on Easter, i.
95> 97j 158, 200 : views on hell
and purgatory, iii. 130, 339: works,
i. xxxiii-xxxvi, Ixxxiii-cxi, clxxv ;
iii. 342.

Bedeuwinde, see Bedwyn.

Bedlington, iii. 59.

Beds of nuns, iii. 181.

Bed win, see Bseduuine.

Bedwyn (Bedeuwinde), Wilts, ii. 119,
121.

Bee, see Bega.

402

INDEX

Beer in monasteries, i. 29 ; ii. 512.

Bees, iii. 256.

Bega (Bee, Beghu, Begu, Bugga),
Saint and nun, iii. 195, 196, 386,
389, see also Heiu.

Behrfrid, i. cl.

Beith, i. 36.

Bekerey, ii. 442.

Belgium, i. 71 ; iii. 183.

Beli, ii. 106, 107.

Bell at Lindisfarne, i. 28.

Bell, miraculous, iii. 354.

Bells, ii. 497.

Beltingham, iii. 59, 60, 304.

Bemerside, iii. 5.

Benedict, St., i. xxii, xxix, xl, xlii,
175, 176, 178, 179, 181, 204, 258;
iii. 340.

Benedict ii., Saint and Pope, i.
clxxxi ; ii. 198, 205, 209, 346-348.

Benedict ix., Pope, iii. 162.

Benedict Biscop, St., i. xxxii, xxxiii,
xxxvi, Ixxxiii, Ixxxiv, xciii, cxxvii,
cxxviii, 156, 159-161, 163, 164,
167, 168, 174, 182, 221, 251, 304,
305, 308 ; ii. 2, 23, 31, 69, 103,
153, 179, 248, 253-258, 272-280,
285, 287-291, 293, 299-307, 322,
323> 343, 507 ; i". 149, 266, 325,
327, 328, 332, 357, 360, 364-366.

Benedictine Order, i. xl, xli, Ivi ; iii.
loi, 102, 360, 384.

Benedictus Crispus, Archbishop of
Milan, ii. 146.

Beneventum, Duchy, i. 233.

Bent grass, i. 99.

Benwell, iii. 351.

Beodrechworth, see Bury St. Ed-
munds.

Beorhtfrid (Beorhtferth, Berhtfrid),
ealdorman, ii. 221-224, 226, 504,
506 ; iii. 346.

Beorhtgils, see Boniface.

Beorhtsuith, see Bregusuid.

Beorhtwald, Abbot, i. cli, clii ; ii.
372.

Beorhtwald (Beorwald, Bercuald,
Berhtuald, Berhtwald, Berhwald,
Berichtwald, Beroald, Berthuald,
Brehtwald, Brihtwald), Archbishop
of Canterbury, i. cxiv, cxxi, cxxvii,
cxxx, cxxxvii, cxxxix, cxlviii, clii-
cliv, clvi, clx, clxiv, clxvii, clxix,
clxx, clxxii-clxxiv, clxxxiv, clxxxv;
ii. 125, 126, 197, 204, 206, 211,
216, 223-225, 358-364, 372, 394,
420, 446, 451, 494, 501 ; iii- "212,
348, 364, 367 ; see also Beorhtwald,
nephew of ^thelred.

Beorhtwald, nephew of ^thelred, i.

cxlii ; ii. loi, 102, 360; see also

Beorhtwald, Archbishop.
Beornfrith, Abbot, i. civ.
Beornstan, see Bertinus.
Beorwald, see Beohrtwald.
Berchann, St., iii. 353.
Berchtgyth, iii. 191,
Berchthun (Bercthun), Saint and

Abbot, ii. 179 ; iii. 152, 1 54-156,

161, 163, 204.
Berchtsuith, see Bregusuid.
Berchtyth, iii. 191.
Beret (Berctus,Berctrid), ii. 104, 155.
Bercthun, see Berchthun.
Bercthun, Sussex chief, ii. 133.
Berctrid, see Beret.
Berctsuid, see Bregusuid.
Bercuald, Bercuuald, see Beorhtwald.
Berecingum, ii. 42.
Bergues, i. 64.
Berhferth, i. clxxi.
Berhfrid, monk, ii. 449.
Berhtfrid, see Beorhtfrid.
Berhther (Bertared, Pectarit), Lom-
bard king, ii. 58 ; iii. 362.
Berhtuald, Berhtwald, Berhwald,

Berichtwald, see Beorhtwald.
Berin's Hill, i. 36.
Berkshire, i. 40; ii. 119, 447, 491.
Bermondsey, i. cxxx.
Bernard the Sacrist, iii. 15.
Bernard, St., i. xl, Ixxx.
Bernardus, ii. 257.
Bernguid (Bernguida), i. clxv, clxvi.
Bernicia, i. 4, 5, 8, ii, 34, 75, 79,

83, 94, 126, 184, 221 ; ii. 51, 53,

228, 504; iii. 187, 303.
Bernicia, Bishops of, i. clxxxvi.
Bernicia, Kings of, i. clxxxii.
Bernwin, nephew of Wilfrid, ii. 135.
Beroald, see Beorhtwald.
Berri, Due de, ii. 265,
Bersuitha, see Bregusuid.
Bertana, Abbess, i. clxv ; ii. 388.
Bertared, see Berhther.
Bertha (Byrhte), Queen of Kent, i.

241, 243.
Berther, priest, iii. 234.
Berthgyth, Abbess, iii. 191.
Bertinus (Beornstan, Byrnstan),

Bishop of Winchester, i. 44.
Berwald, Abbot of Glastonbury, ii.

450.
Berwick, i. 21 ; iii. 81.
Besan9on, ii. 9.
Besingahearh, i. clxvii.
Bestlesford, i. cxlv, cxlvi ; iii. 348.
Bethlehem, i. 170, 175.

INDEX

403

Betti, i. 123.

Beverley, iii. 155, 157, i6l, 162, 164-
170, 204.

Beverley, John of, see John of
Beverley.

Bevon Gamel, iii. 14.

Bewcastle, i. 133, 336-347 ; "i- 59,
60, 146, 209, 270, 304, 306, 310,
311, 316, 317, 319, .320.

Bible, Latin versions, i. xxxiv.

Bible study, iii. 370.

Bible, see also Codex.

Bigamy, iii. 247.

Bigotry, iii. 392, 393.

Billfrith (Billfred, Billfrid), iii. 70,
109, no, 118, 119.

Bikon, iii. 155.

Binchester, ii. 294.

Birch (W. de G. ), Cartularium Saxon-
iaifn, i. cxxi.

Birching scholars, ii. 516.

Birdei, see Bruidi.

Birin (Birinus, Byrne), Saint, and
Bishop of Dorchester, i. 35-46,
321 ; ii. 441.

Birnsale (Burnsall), iii. 58.

Birtley, Richard de, iii. 87.

Bischoffsheim, iii. 185, 237.

Biscop, son of Beda, i. 160.

Biscop Baducing, i. 160.

Biscop, Benedict, see Benedict Biscop.

Biscopsheim, see Bischofifsheim.

Biscopstane, ii. 496.

Bishop Burton, iii. 155.

Bishop Hatfield, iii. 390.

Bishops, advice to, i. xliv, xlv : con-
secration, i. 209-213 : duties, iii.
250, 251 : eight in Heptarchy, i.
249 : foreign, to be content with
hospitality, ii. 28 : increase of, ii.
29 ; iii. 361 : monastic, i. 141 :
not to disturb monasteries, ii. 27 :
not to sleep at monasteries, i. cliv :
not to intrude into other dioceses,
ii. 26 : ordination at Rome, i. 288-
293 : ordination by one bishop, i.
289 ; ii. 54, 185 ; iii. 362 : powers,
i. XX, xxi, cxxxix : precedence of,
ii. 29 : reconsecration, i. 350-355 :
regicide, ii. 90 : subordinate to
abbots, i. xxviii, 23, 25, 31 ; ii.
406 ; iii. 349.

Bishopstowe, ii. 499.

Bisi, Bishop of East Anglia, i. cv,
309 ; ii. 22, 52, 419.

Blachernse, ii. 79.

Blackhill, iii. 351.

Black Prince, i. 90.

Blackwater, i. 142.

Blackwell, iii. 221.
Bladon, river, i. clvii ; iii. 348.
Bledenhilhe, i. cliii ; ii. 501.
Blindness prevented, i. 90.
Blithman, Commissioner, iii. 93.
Blood-eating, iii. 243.
Blood-letting, ii. 179; iii. 204.
Blood money, ii. 42.
Blyborough, iii. 356.
Boarhurst, i. 316.
Bobon, Treasurer, ii. 264.
Bodesham (Botdesham), i. cxxxv,

cxxxvi.
Bo-finne, i. 197.
Bohemia, i. 72, 298.
Boisil, see Bosel.
Bolton Abbey, iii. 55.
Boniface, Archdeacon, i. 164, 165 ;

ii. 209, 252, 391 ; iii. 194.
Boniface (Beorhtgils), Bishop of East

Anglia, i. cv, clxxxiv, 210, 212,

2I3» 307, 309-

Boniface (Winfrith, Wynfrid, Wyn-
frith), St., i. xxxviii, xliii, Ii, xcii,
xcvi, xcix, cxiii, cxiv, cxlvi, 287 ;
ii. 124, 356, 379, 391, 419, 435,
444, 447, 449-451* 477, 485, 491,
501, 504; iii. 39, 150, 160, 183,
190, 201, 203, 204, 211, 229, 230,
233, 235, 237, 340, 368, 383, 388.

Bonosus, i. 351.

Book-collecting, ii. 273, 322, 323.

Book exchanged for lands, ii. 153,

507.
Books at Durham, iii. 385.
Books destroyed by Danes, i. cxxiii.
Books in monasteries, iii. 328.
Books at Ripon, i. 380, 381.
Books, and miracle, ii. 492, 493.
Books, sacred, not to be sold, ii. 336.
Books to be burnt, ii. 336.
Bophin, i. 197.
Bordeaux, ii. 8.
Bosa, Bishop of York, i. clxxiv,

clxxxvi ; ii. 53, 211, 223, 234, 506 ;

iii. 140, 151, 152, 193, 362, 364.
Bosanham (Bosham), ii. 115.
Bosel (Basil, Boisil, Bosil, Boysil),

Bishop of Worcester, i. clxv, clxvi,

clxxxvi; ii. 186, 384, 385, 388;

iii. 5.
Bosel, Prior of Melrose, ii. 405 ; iii.

5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 30, 31, 103.
Bosham, ii. 115.

Bosi, Bishop of Dunwich, i. clxxxiv.
Bossuet, i. 204.

Boston, i. 136 ; ii. 411 ; iii. 351.
Bota, ii. 335.
Botdesham, see Bodesham.

404

INDEX

Bothelm, mason's boy, i. 370.

Bothelm, monk of Hexham, i. 27.

Botulf, see Botulph.

Botulfeston, i. 136.

Botulfstown, i. 136.

Botulph (BotulO, St., i. 136, 137; ii.

256, 411 ; iii. 347, 356.
Botwine, Abbot, ii. 243.
Boulogne, ii. 139.
Bourges, ii. 8.
Bowyer, Robert, iii. loS.
Boyle, ii. 152.
Boysil, see Bosel.
Bracara, ii. 4.

Bracklaeshamstede, ii. 449.
Bradanafel, iii. 348.
Bradanford, ii. 494.
Bradansae, i. 332,
Bradenfeld, i. cxlv, cxlvi.
Bradford-on-Avon, i. cxliii ; ii. 294,

465, 494, 496, 499-
Bradwell, see Ythancaester.
Braga, ii. 4.
Brainshaugh, ii. 513.
Brandesburton, iii. 165,
Brechin, i. 36.
Bregesne, ii. 513.
Bregford, i. cxlii.
Bregh, Magh, ii. 104.
Breguntford, ii. 364, 494.
Bregusuid (Bersuitha, Berctsuid,

Beorhtsuith, Berchtsuith), iii. 187,

190, 191.
Bregwin, ii. 361.
Brehtwald, see Beorhtwald.
Brendan, St., iii. 353.
Brent, East, i. cliii. cliv.
Brentford, i. clxx ; ii. 364, 494.
Brenzett, iii. 386.
Bretons, Damnonian, i. 297.
Bretwalda, i. 8, 35, 47, 74, I33> 240;

ii. 138.
Breviary with office for St. Chad, i.

364-
Brice, St., ii. 264.
Bricklesworde, Bricklesworthe, see

Brixworth.
Bride Kirk, iii. 307.
Brie, i. 121, 167 ; iii. 183, 223.
Bright, John, ii. 251.
Bright, Canon William, i. clxxvi.
Brightefert of Ramsey, i. xcv.
Brigid, St., i. 19.
Brihtmaer, Bishop, i. clxxii.
Brihtwald, see Beorhtwald.
Brinkburn, ii. 513.
Bristol, iii. 221.
Brithred the butler, ii. 506 ; iii.

161.

Brithwald's Life of St. Ecgwin, iii.

347.
Britons, i. 77 ; iii. 173 : after Winwsed
battle, i. 219: confined to Wales,
i. 132 : hatred of English, i. 5 :
lost Eastern England, i. 15 ; ii.
408 ; iii. 368 : of Wales, iii. 366.
Brittany, i. 21.

Brives la Gaillarde, ii, 265, 267.
Brixworth (Bricklesworde, Brickles-
worthe), i. 334, 335 ; ii. 186-196,
281.
Broad, iii. 356.
Broadway, ii. 499.
Brooke, Rev. Stopford A., i. clxxvi.
Brord, dux, i. clxvi.
Brown, Anthony, iii, 98.
Brown, Prof. G. Baldwin, i. clxxvii.
Browne, Bishop G. Forrest, i. clxxvi.
Bruidi (Birdei, Brude), King of Picts,

ii. 106, 107 ; iii. 366.
Brumalia, ii. 335.
Brunanburgh, battle, ii. 98, 497.
Brunichildis, Queen, i. 302.
Bruny, Dukeof South Saxons, i. cxlix.
Brussels, i. Ixxiii.
Bruton, ii. 471.
Bryn Hall, i. 53.

Brythnoth, Abbot of Ely, iii, 222.
Bubba, i. 160.
Bucga, nun, i. clxi.
Budecalech, i. cliv.
Budinhaam, i. clxviii.
Bugga (Bugge), daughter of Centwine,
i. cxiv; ii. 123, 124, 134,435, 462,
463 ; in. 370, 373.
Bugga (Heaburg), i. cxiv; iii. 203,

204, 233.
Bugga, see also Bega.
Bulcred, "King," i. cxxiv ; iii. 208.
Bulgaria, ii. 340,
Bulgarians, i. 299 ; ii. 61-63.
Bulla?, ii. 252 ; iii. 194.
Bull-baiting, iii. 37, 161.
Burch, ii. 33.

Burgh, Bishop de, iii. 216,
Burgh Castle (Cnobheresburg), i. 114,

120; iii. 352.
Burghelm, ii. 115.
Burgred, King of Mercia, ii. 439 ;

iii. 221.
Burgundofaro, Bishop of Meaux, i.

306.
Burgundy, i. xix, 165, 166, 294, 300,

301.
Burial of unbaptized, iii. 261.
Burials at Lindisfarne, i. 29.
Burials in church, iii. 249, 250, 261.
Burne, battle of, i. 53.

INDEX

405

Burngitha, ii. 477.

Burns, Robert, iii. 262.

Burnsall, iii. 58.

Burrigida, nun, iii. 232.

Bury, Prof. Jolin B., i. clxxvii.

Bury St. Edmunds, i. 115, 121, 137,

Byrhte, see Bertha.

Byrne, see Birin.

Byrnstan, see Bertinus.

Byzantine Empire, ii. 59-64.

Byzantine vice and virility, i. xii, xiii.

Byzantium, see Constantinople.

Cadafael (Cadavoel), King of Gwynedd,
see Catgabail.

Cadvan, i. 11 ; iii. 348.

Cadwallon, see Caedwalla.

Cxdmon, poet, i. xxxv, cvi, clxxvi,
clxxviii ; iii. 193, 262-301.

Caedwalader, son of Caedwalla, i. 15.

Caedwalla, King of Gwynedd, i. 4, 6,
7, II, 13-15, 42, 48, 50, 51, 74,
75; 11. 131, 132; iii. 3, 303, 348.

Caedwalla (Ceadual, Ceadwala), King
of Wessex, i. Iviii, cxlii-cxliv,
cxlviii, cli, clxvii, clxviii, clxxii,
clxxiii, clxxxiii ; ii. 124, 125, 130-
148, 167, 356, 374, 426, 428, 429,

439, 469 ; iii. 362, 373-
Coelin (Celin), i. 94, 141, 153 ; ii.

232.
Caer Dauri, see Dorchester.
Ccer Eyddyn, i. 129.
Caer Wise, ii. 443.
Csesarea, i. 254, 255, 260, 263.
Ca;sarius, St., IBishop of Aries, i. 175 ;

iii. 176, 181, 182.
Caetlgevum, i. 379.
Cahors, i. 100, 295, 296.
Cairo (Fostat), i. 232.
Caistor (Castor, Dormundcaster), i.

223, 330, 348; ii. 425; iii. 209.
Calabria, i. 234.
Calcaria, see Tadcaster.
Caldey Island, iii. 318.
Caliphate, i. 230.
Callinicus, ii. 60.
Cam, ii. 409.
Camboise, ii. 307.
Cambrey, i. 116.
Cambridge, ii. 409.
Cambusnethan, iii. 351.
Camel to carry an altar, ii. 471.
Camin of Iniskeltra, i. 321.
Campania, ii. 58, 90.
Candida Casa, see Whitherne.
Candlestick called Jesse, iii. 227.
Canonisation, i. Ixxvi ; iii. 339, 340.
Canons, Book of, ii. 25. ^

Canons discussed at Uerutford, ii.

26-30.
Cantcaul, battle, i. 11, 15.
Canterbury, i. xxviii, cxii, cxxiii-
cxxvi, cxxxiv, cxxxvi, cxxxix, clxxii,
39, 45, 117, 142, 147, 149, 160-
163, 216, 247, 249, 319, 366, 374 ;
ii. 51, 129, 157, 160, 167, 175, 185,
193, 216, 243-245, 253, 256, 362,
454-457,492; iii. 210, 219, 227-
229, 236, 315, 360, 375, 391.

Canterbury, Abbots, ii. 365-372.

Canterbury, Archbishop of, position
in Heptarchy, i. 249-251 : reason
why Englishmen not appointed,
iii. 360 : use of title, ii. Ii.

Canterbury, Archbishops of, i.
clxxxiv, clxxxv : first seven all
monks, iii. 364.

Canterbury, Archbishops, primacy of,
i. 220, 250 ; ii. I, 24, 52, 175, 185,
243. 362.

Canterbury, Archbishops, second
dynasty, i. 249.

Canterbury, See vacancy, i. 216; ii.
184.

Canterbury school, i. xxxi, Ixxxiv ;
ii. 175, 365-368, 454, 456, 467;
iii. 359, 360.

Cantucuudu, i. cli.

Canute, see Cnut.

Cappadocia, i. 174, 259, 261.

Care, river, ii. 506.

Carham (Carram, Carrum), iii. 57,

59-
Carilef, Bishop, iii. 18, 64.

Carinthia, i. 298.

Carlisle (Luel, Lugubalia), i. clxxiv,

70, 133; ii. 109; iii. 32-34, 41,

54, 56, 59, 91, 184, 208.
Carniola, i. 72, 298.
Carram, see Carham.
Carron, river, ii. 506.
Carrum, see Carham.
Carthage, i. 231, 233, 235; ii. 339.
Carthagena, ii. 3.
Carthagh, St., i. 321.
Cartmel, i. 379 ; iii. 56.
C as ail, i. 27.
Cassian, Saint and Bishop, i. 170-182,

278 ; iii. 176 : Rule of, i. 173-181.
Cassiodorus, i. xxxiv, 175; iii. 325,

326, 330-337.
Castor, see Caistor.
Castor, Bishop of Apt, i. 173.
Cataracta, see Catterick.
Catgabail (Cadafael, Cadavasl), King

of Gwynedd, i. 15, 126, 131.
Catgublaun, i, 11,

4o6

INDEX

Catguollaun, i. ii.

Catgus, i. II.

Cath ys gwaul, i. 15.

Cathair Fursa, iii. 355.

Cation, i. II.

Catreht, see Catterick.

Catscaul, battle of, i. ii, 15.

Catterick (Cataracta, Catreht), i. 79,

154-

Ceadda (Chad), St., i. Ixxxiv, cxxv,
clxxiv, clxxxv, 30, 94, 98, 141, 206,
212-214, 216, 217, 225, 307, 323,
324, 349-366; ii. 35, 50, 93. 173,
381, 405, 490; iii. 17, 194, 218,
219. 357, 359.

Ceadual, Ceadwala, see Caedwalla,
King of Wessex.

Ceaulin, ii. 428.

Cedde, St., Bishop of London, i. cv,
cxlvi, clxxiv, clxxxiv, 30, 94, 98,
123, 140-142, 150-154, 187, 199,
206, 207, 212, 213, 223, 307, 363;
ii. 50 ; iii. 357.

Celibacy of monks at Lindisfarne, i.
26.

Celin, see Caelin.

Cellan, Abbot, ii. 453, 467, 468, 474,

475-.
Celta, i. clxxii.

Celtic clergy not recognised, i. 352.
Celtic rites, difference from Roman

i-55-

Cemele, see Kemble.

Cementarii, ii. 258 ; iii. 365.

Cenferth, ii. 32.

Cenfrith (Kenfrith), ealdorman, i. cxl,
cxli.

Cenfus, ii. 32.

Cengisl, see Hemgils.

Cenred, see Coenred.

Centwal, King, i. clxvii.

Centwine (Centwyn, Chentwini,
Kenten, Kentwine), King of
Wessex, i. cxlii, cxliii, cli, clii,
cliv, clxxxiii ; ii. 38, 50, 102, 118,
119, 123-125, 134, 148,453. 462;
iii. 233.

Cenwalch, see Coinwalch.

Cenwulf, see Cynewulf.

Ceode, Bishop of lona, iii. 138.

Ceodwala, see Caedwalla.

Ceolfrid, Abbot, i. xxxii, xxxiii,
Ixxxiii, Ixxxiv, xc, cix, cxxviii,
cxxix, 29, 137; ii. 153, 156, 196,
255-258, 276, 277, 287, 298-301,
304, 306-312, 315-324, 403, 507;
iii. 138, 148, 150, 197, 321-323,
325, 327-330, 332, 333. 336, 337,
339, 360, 365-367-

Ceolfrid, King of Mercia, ii. 430 ;

iii. 212, 345.
Ceolla, iii. 230.
Ceollach, Bishop of Mercia, i. clxxxv,

135, 136, 218.
Ceolred (Ciolred), King of Mercia, i.

clxx, clxxxiii ; ii. 232, 378-380,

414, 504 ; iii. 221.
Ceolswitha, see Cilia.
Ceolwald, ii. 428.
Ceolwulf, Bishop, i. clxvi.
Ceolwulf (Echdach, Eochaid), St.,

King of Northumbria, i. xlvii, Iviii,

civ; ii. 510-517 ; iii. 40, 57, 70,

142, 384.
Ceolwulf, son of Cynric (Wessex),

ii. 32, 50.
Cerdic, ii. 32, 428.
Cerdic, chief of Elmet, iii. i87'
Cerotaesei, see Chertsey.
Certeseye, see Chertsey.
Cerwelle, see Cherwell.
Cester, see Chester-le-Street.
Chad, St., see Ceadda.
Chadkirk, iii. 359.
Chadstowe, i. 357.
Chadwell Heath, iii. 359.
Chadwick, iii. 359.
Chceremon, Abbot, i. 1 71.
Chair, Bede's, ii. 293.
Chalcedon, ii. 333.
Chamar, i. 299.
Champagne, i. 169; ii. 58, 90.
Channel Kirk, iii. 36.
Chanting, i, ex; ii. 201.
Chares of Lindos, i. 230.
Charibert, i. 293, 295.
Charinus, Deacon, ii. 73.
Charles the Great, i. xxxix, cxii ; ii.

259, 261, 438.
Charles the Simple, iii. 355-
Charms, iii. 10.

Charters, Anglo-Saxon, i. cxx-clxxv.
Chastity, i. 1, liii, liv ; ii. 373, 374 ;

iii. 178, 180.
Chasuble, i. 27.
Chatelac, ii. 265.
Chateriz, iii. 387.
Cheker, William de, iii. 81.
Chelles, i. 167, 303 ; ii. 266; iii. 183,

188, 226, 232, 354.

Chelsea (Ethcealchy), i. clviii ; ii. 385.
Chenewalch, see Coinwalch.
Chentwini, see Centwine.
Cherleton, i. cxli.
Cherson, ii. 340.

Chert sev (Cerotaesei, Certeseye), i.
cxxvii, cxxx, cxlvi, cxlvii ; ii. 33,
42-46, 421,

INDEX

407

Cherwell (Cerwelle), river, i. clxvi.
Chester, i. 71 ; ii. 295 ; iii. 220, 221,

391-

Chester-Ie-Street (Cester, Concaces-

tre, Cunungaceastre), i. xcii, 60;

iii. 62, 63, 131, 340.
Chesters, i. 12.

Chichele, Archbishop, iii. 166.
Chichester, i. cxlvii ; ii. 115 ; iii. 367.
Chick, iii. 392.

Childebert, King of Austrasia, i. 302.
Childebert iii., King of the Franks,

i. clxxxi, clxxxii.
Childeric, King of the Franks, i.

clxxxi.
Childeswicwon, i. clxiii.
ChilHngton, ii. J 33.
Chihnark, ii. 121.
Chilperic ii.. King of the Franks, i.

clxxxii ; ii. 321.
Chilswell, ii. 120.
Chiltern, Forest of, ii. 133.
Chilterns, i. 36.
Chilton, i. 40 ; ii. 121.
Chintila, ii. 16.
Chlothaire I., King of the Franks,

iii. 362.
Chlothaire il.. King of Neustria, i.

clxxxi, 294 ; ii. 264, 266, 268.
Chlothaire ill., King of the Franks,

i. 166, 302, 303.
Chlothaire iv., King of Austrasia, i.

clxxxii.
Chlothaire (Hlothaire, Leutherius,

Lothaire), Bishop of Wessex, i.

cxl, clxv, clxxi, clxxxiv, 366 ; ii.

22, 31, 50, 440, 454, 461 ; iii. 348.
Chlothaire, King of Kent, see

Hlothaire.
Chlovis II., King of Neustria, i. Il6,

166, 300, 302.
Chlovis III., King of the Franks, i.

clxxxi.
Chollerton, i. 71.
Chon, i. II.

Chrism, iii. 252, 253, 256.
Chrismal robes, ii. 141 ; iii. 363.
Chrismarium, ii. 92.
Christ represented as a man, ii. 337.
Christ, two vi'ills or one, ii. 64.
Christendom, Western, reunion, i. xx.
Christening_ gift, i. 335, 336; ii. 113.
Christmas, ii. 445.
Christmas fast at Lindisfarne, i. 29.
Christopher, St., relics, i. 67.
Chrodegang, Bishop of Metz, ii. 261,

362.
Chronology, Biblical, interest in, ii.

329, 230,

Church, British, schismatical, i. 209,

337-

Church, Eastern, ii. 327-338.

Church, Egyptian, i. 231.

Church, English, administration, ii.

9' ^°- . .

Church, English, in Theodore's time,

i. 306.
Church, English, origin, i. xi.
Church, English, second birth, i, 254.
Church, Gaul, administration, ii. 3,

7-9-
Church, German, origin, i. xi. •

Church, Irish, i. xxvi-xxix.

Church, Spanish, ii. 2-7, 344-347.

Church, Welsh, i. xxviii.

Church, Western, government, ii. 2.

Churches built, i. 21, 22, 32, 43.

Churches desecrated by burials, iii.
261.

Churches, English, improvement, i.
xxxvi.

Churches, monastic, construction, i.25.

Churches, removal, iii. 249.

Churches, Saxon, at Bradford-on-
Avon, ii. 465 : Brixworth, ii. 186-
196 : Corbridge, iii. 387 : Escomb,
ii. 293-297 : Jarrow, ii. 287-293 :
Peterborough, i. 334, 335 : Re-
culver, i. 317-319 : Repton, iii.
386: South Elmham, i. 310-316:
Wearmouth, ii. 280-286 : Ythan-
CKster, i. 142-150.

Churn Knot, i. 40.

Cicero, i. 58.

Cilbury Hill, ii. I2I.

Cilia (Ceolswitha, Cillan), i. cxlv,
cxlvi ; ii. 1 19-122.

Ciltine, ii. 132.

Ciolred, see Ceolred.

Cissa (Cyssa), i. cxlv; ii. 119-121,
123, 413, 414, 428. _

Cistercian Order, i. Ivi.

Clan system in Irish monasteries, iii.
183.

Classic authors known to mediaeval
writers, i. Ixxxviii ; iii. 341, 383.

Cleburn, see Cliburne.

Clement, St., ii. 396.

Clement, St. (of Rome), iii. 370.

Clement viii., ii. 332.

Clement xiii., iii. 339.

Clergy, forbidden to teach, iii. 359:
garb of, ii. 333 : ignorance, i. xx,
xxii, xxxi : inferior, at synods, ii.
23 : marriage of, i. 26 : morals, i.
xx-xxii, xliii-xlv: not to wander,
ii. 27 : secular, absent from Lindis-
farne, iii. 351.

4o8

INDEX

Cleveland, iii. 59.

Cliburne, iii. 59, 61.

Cliffe at Hoe (Hoo), ii. 20, 29 ; sec

also Aet Hoe.
Clive, i. 332.

Clofeshoch,'5(f(? Cloveshoe.
Clonard, i. 322.
Clothes of nuns, iii. 179-181, 184,

Cloveshoe (Clofeshoch), i. li, cxxxix,
cxl ; ii. 28, 29, 402 ; iii. 361.

Cluniac Order, i. Ivi,

Clyde, i. 15; iii. 34.

Cneuburga, see Cuenburga.

Cnobheresburg, see Burgh Castle.

Cnobher's Town, i. 114.

Cnut (Canute), King, iii. 227, 310,
386.

Cocboy, battle, i. 53.

Cockedge, i. 53.

Codex Amialinus, i. xxxiii, clxxviii ;
iii. 321-337.

Codex Grandior, iii. 325-328, 331-

333.

Coenburg, Abbess, see Cuthburga.

Coenbyrht (Coenbright), ii, 428.

Coengils, see Hemgils.

Coenred (Kenred), King of Mercia, i.
Iviii, cxlv, cxlviii-cl, clxiii, clxiv,
clxix-clxxi, clxxxiii ; ii. 217, 218,

232, 365, 374, 375. 377, 378, 394,
412, 425, 428, 494, 495 ; iii. 212.

Coenred, King of Northumbria, i.
• clxxxiii; ii. 508-51 1.

Coenthrytha, see Kenedritha.

Coffin, Cuthberht's voyage in, iii, 62 :
miracle, ii. 423 : prepared in life-
time, iii. 157 : royal, iii. 368.

Coins made by St. Eloi, ii. 268.

Coinwalch (Cenwalch, Chenewalch,
Kenwalch, Kenwald), King of
Wessex, i. cliv, clxvi, clxxi, clxxii,
clxxxii, clxxxiii, 42, 46, 120, 183,
185, 320-326, 335, 365 ; ii. 30,
31, 118, 130, 254, 440, 442; iii.
361.

Colam, i. 158.

Colana, iii. 205.

Coldebur Chesheved, iii. 213.

Coldingham, i. xliii, Ixii ; ii. 99, loo,
254 ; iii. 12, 14, 184, 204-208, 213,

389.
Colerne, ii. 496, 499.
Colla Fursa, iii. 352.
CoUingham, i. 80, 91, 92, 155, 219,

378 ; ii. 103, 256, 403.
Colman, numerous saints of the

name, i. 158, 159.
Colman, St., Bishop of Northumbria,

i. Ixxxvi, ciii, clxxxv, 94, 158, 159,
186-189, 191-199, 204, 205, 220,
222 ; ii. 403 ; iii. 352, 357.

Colodaesburg, see Coldingham.

Cologne, i. 71, 300; ii. 260, 261.

Colossus of Rhodes, i. 230.

Columba, St., i. xxvi, 10, 19, 24, 29,
188, 194, 195; ii. 171, 257, 308;
iii. 137, 362.

Columbanus, i. xxvi ; iii. 183.

Cohimbus, ii. 264.

Columcille, i. 188.

Comb, ivory, iii. 66, 67, 'Jl.

Come's Well, iii. 352.

Cotnes, meaning, i. 80; iii. 351,

Comet, ii. 35, 36.

Communion, i. 280, 281 ; iii. 246.

Compendium, i, 210.

Compiegne, i. 210.

Compline, i. 27, 277.

Conall, St., iii. 353.

Conall Gulban, iii. 137.

Conan, Abbot of Abingdon, ii. 122.

Concacestre, see Chester-le-Street.

Concubinage, iii. 183, 244.

Conemora, ii. 121.

Confession, i. 29, 279, 280; iii. 261.

Confession of Faith, ii. 74.

Confirmation, iii. 252.

Cong, iii. 353.

Conmael, Abbot, iii. 137.

Connar, iii. 355.

Connaught, ii. 152.

Conon, Pope, i. clxxxi ; ii. 348.

Conrad, iii. 190.

Consanguinity, ii. 166.

Constance, i. 71.

Constans ii., Emperor, i. xiv, clxxxi,
228-239, 254, 287, 305 ; ii. 59, 64,

75-
Constantine I., Emperor, iii. 313,

370.
Constantine IV. (Pogonotas), Emperor,

i. clxxxi; ii. 59-67, 69, 82, 325,

326, 347-
Constantine I., Pope, i. cxxx, clxxxii,

353-355, 390, 394; ii- 377; iii-

367-
Constantine, King of Scotland, iii. 63.
Constantine, see also Constans.
Constantinople, i. xii, xiv, 173, 233,

234, 236, 254 ; ii. 16, 59-61, 68,

70, 75, 76, 328, 330, 331, 333,

334, 343. 349, 353;.. iii- 3^3, 367-
Conversion of monks, ii. 27.
Conway, Sir Martin, i. clxxvii.
Copeland, iii. 196.
Coptic influence on Northumbrian art,

iii. 316, 317.

INDEX

409

Copts, iii. 314.

Co(|uet Island, i. 89 ; iii. 198.

Coquet, river, ii. 513.

Corbican, iii. 352.

Corbie Abbey, i. 303 ; iii. 352.

Corbridge, ii. 193 ; iii. 387.

Corby Church, ii. 295.

Corf, river, miraculous rising, iii. 210.

Corfe Castle, ii. 464.

Corhampton, i. 202.

Corinth, ii. 79.

Corkaguiny, iii. 354.

Corman, Bishop, i. 17, 31.

Cornelius, catechumen, iii. 252.

Cornu Vallis, ii. 320.

Cornwall, ii. 430, 458, 487 ; iii. 357.

Corpses, incorrupt, ii. 415 ; iii. 50-

54, 69-71, 75-77, 93, 215-217,

219, 220, 222-224.
Corstopitum, i. 370.
Corven, iii. 35.

Cotta, Abbot, i. clxix, clxx, clxxii.
Cotton, Sir Robert, iii. 309.
Couches forbidden in churches, ii.

337-

Councils: Agde, iii. 183: Baccan-
helde, see Synod : Cloveshoe, i. Ii,
cxxxix, cxl ; ii. 29, 402 ; iii. 361 :
Third, Constantinople, ii. 16, 68,
76, 78-82: Sixth, ii. 342, 344,
354, 355 •• Quinisect, ii. 327-338,
349, 351; iii. 367: London, ii.
391: Nicene, i. 188; iii. 241 :
Nidd, see Synod : Orleans, i. 351 :
Toledo, i. xxxiv ; ii. 12-20, 345,
346 : Wessex, ii. 486, 487 : Whitby,
see Synod.

Courthope, History of English Poetry,
i. clxxvi.

Cow, white, enchanted, i. 197.

Cowton, iii. 62.

Cradendene, iii. 214, 387.

Craike (Craik, Crayke, Creca), i.
clxxiv ; ii. 406, 505 ; iii. 54, 56,
59, 131-136.

Cratendune, see Cradendene.

Cravat, ii. 260.

Creca, see Craike.

Crediton, ii. 444, 501.

Crete, ii. 342.

Crimes, iii. 242.

Croats, i. 298.

Cronuchomme, see Evesham.

Cross, St., ii. 120, 121.

Cross, True, i. Ixxii ; ii. 497 ; iii. 226.

Cross, veneration, ii. 337.

Cross, use of, at Lindisfarne, i. 29.

Crosses: Acca's, iii. 144-147, 312:
Aldhelm's, ii. 496 : Cuthberht's,

iii. 59, 99, 104, 105, 122 : Oswald's,
i. 10, II, 51, 53 : at Abercorn, ii.
Ill ; iii, 311, 320: at Abingdon, ii.
121 ; iii. 363 : at Aycliffe, iii. 316 : at
Bellingham, iii. 304 : at Bewcastle,

i- 336, 337; iii- 304, 306, 3"» 3i6i
319, 320 : at Bishop's Stones, ii.
496 : at Bradford-on-Avon, ii. 465 :
at Collingham, i. 91, 92 : at Dews-
bury, iii. 304 : at Escomb, ii. 296 :
at Gainford, iii. 316: at Hadden-
ham, iii. 218, 388: at Hartlepool,
i. 92; iii. 189, 303, 317: at
Heavenfield, i. 10, 27 ; iii. 303 :
at Ilkley, iii, 316 : at Mayo, iii,
353 : at Norham, iii. 385 : at Roth-
bury, iii. 316, 319 : at Ruth well,
i. 340; iii. 269-271, 277, 278,
280,295, 304, 306, 309, 311, 316,
317, 319, 320 : atWhalley, iii. 303 :
at Winwick, i. 53.

Crosses made by St. Eloi, ii. 265 :
memorial, in Northumbria, i.
clxxviii ; iii. 302-320 : stone, i.
xxxvi.

Crosthwaite, iii. 41.

Crotairec, Lombard King, i. 297.

Crouch, i. 142.

Crowland (Croyland, Crudeland, Cru-
land), i. cxi, clxxiv ; ii. 409, 410,
413-416.

Cruindmelus, i. Ixxxviii.

Cuana, iii. 190.

Cuanna, St., iii. 354.

Cuckbamsley, i. 41.

Cuda (Cutta), ii. 428.

Cudda, Abbot of Lindisfarne, i. 161 ;
iii. 42, 47, 357.

Cudsuida, i. clxiii.

Cuenburga (Cneuburga, Quenburga),
Abbess of Wimborne, ii. 439 ; iii.
208, 235, 236.

Cuggedic, i. 332.

Cuichelm, see Cwichelm.

Cuicuin, iii. 134.

Cuidin, see Cuthwine.

Culdees, iii. 265.

Cumberland, i. 132, 222, 336, 338 ;
ii. 241 ; iii. 303 : dialect, iii. 91.

Cumbrae, iii. 196.

Cumbria, i, 8, 34, 132, 133.

Cummian, St,, Abbot of lona, i.
cxvii, 321.

Cumnor, i. 41.

Cunibert, Abbot, i. clxxi ; iii. 348.

Cunibert, Bishop of Cologne, i. 300.

Cunibert (Cunincpert, Cunuberhtus),
King of Lombards, ii. 140 ; iii. 362.

Cunungaceastre, see Chester-le-Street.

410

INDEX

Cuoemlicu, iii. 202.

Cures for fever, iii. 249.

Curses, potent, ii. iio.

Cutha, ii. 510, 511 ; iii. 190.

Cuthbald, Abbot of Oundle, ii. 235.

Cuthbald, Abbot of Peterborough, i.
334 ; iii. 358.

Cuthberht, Abbot of Jarrow and
Wearmouth, i. Ixxxvii ; iii. 365.

Cuthberht, Archbishop of Canterbury,
i. Ii, clxi ; ii. 435 ; iii. 227.

Cuthberht, St., Bishop of Lindisfarne,
i. xcvii, cxv, clxxxvi, 98, 184, 221,
222; ii. 54, 106, 181, 400; iii. I-
174, 192, 364 : appears in visions,
i. Ixv, Ixvi : asceticism, iii. 19-31,
205, 206 : banner, iii. 79-82 : be-
comes bishop, i. clxxiv ; ii. 105,
160 ; iii. 31, 32, 199 : body buried,
iii. 93, 94 : body not corrupted,
iii. 50, 51, 69-71, 75-77, 93:
coffin, iii. 67-70, 72, 85-99, 309,
385 : contemporaries, friends, and
pupils, i. Ixxxvii, Ixxxviii : iii. 106-
174 : death, i. xciii ; iii. 42-47 : dedi-
cations, i. 71 ; ii- 516 ; iii. 36, 54,
55> 59- depicted with St. Oswald,
i. 60, 61, 68 : dread of women, iii.
13-16, 35, 36 : dress, iii. 20 : feast,
iii. 83, 84, 384, 385 : feretory, iii.
82-87 • gloves, iii. 87 : Gospels, iii.
61, 98, 102, 329 : grants to, i. 379 ;
ii. 513 ; iii. 55-57 : grave opened,
i. 60, 95 : literary work, iii. loi,
102 : lives, i. xci-xciii, cvii-cix :
miracles, i. Ixxxiv ; ii. 240, 241 ;
iii. 11-13, 16-18, 21-23, 28, 34-37,
44, 48, 49, 56, 198, 199, 385 : mis-
sionary labours, iii. IO-12, 33-37,
40, 41 : monk, iii. 4: monuments,
iii, 90, 91 : oratory, iii. 12 1 : pec-
toral cross, iii. 99 : portable altar,
iii. 100, loi : preaching, iii. 19 :
Prior of Lindisfarne, iii. 18-20 :
prophesies Aldfrid's accession, ii.
149 : and Ecgfrid's death, ii. 107-
109: relics, i. 60; iii. 45, 51-54,
57-105, 108, 207 : ring, iii. 98, 99 :
St. John's Gospel, iii. 102-104 :
saintship doubted, iii. 89, 340 :
shrine, i. 67 ; iii. 63-65, 78, 79,
82 : stone cross, iii. 104, 105, 122 :
table, iii. 385 ; tames animals, ii.
413 ; iii. 22-29, 205, 206 : travels
after death, i. 59 ; iii. 57-64, 107,
200 : window in York Minsterj iii.
92.

Cuthberht, comes Hwicciorum, i,
clxiii.

Cuthburga (Coenburg), Queen, Ab-
bess of Wimborne, i. cxliv ; ii.
220, 439, 477, 494, 504 ; iii. 232-

236, 347. ..,
Cutherston, iii. 61.
Cuthgils, ii. 32.
Cuthred, i. cxlv, clxvii, 42.
Cuthwine, ancestor of Ini, ii. 428.
Cuthwine, Bishop of Dunwich, ii.

419.
Cuthwine, King, ii. 508, 510-512.
Cuthwulf, iii. 190.
Cutta, see Cuda. ^
Cwantawic, see Etaples.
Cwichelm, Bishop of Rochester, i.

clxxxiv ; ii. 49.
Cwichelm, son of Cynegils, i. 41, 42,

49.
Cwichelm's hlaew, see Cuckhamsley.
Cyneberht (Kinbert), Bishop of Lind-

sey, i. cv, clxxxvi ; ii. 402.
Cyneburga (Cyniburga, Kineburga,

Kyneburga), Saint and Queen, i.

40, 74, 122, 183, 223, 331, 348;

ii. 387 ; iii. 209, 349, 388.
Cyneburga, see also Kineburga, Kuni-

burga.
Cynefrid, Abbot of Collingham, i.

378 ; ii. 256, 403.
Cynegils, King of Wessex, i. clxxxii,

39-42, 49, 74 ; ii. 50.
Cynehard, Bishop of Winchester, ii.

447.
Cynehard, brother of Sigeberht, iii.

386.
Cynemund (Cynimund), i. 77 ; iii.

49- .
Cynesuitha (Cyneswitha), St., i. 126,

223, 331. 348; ii. 425 ; iii- 209.
Cynewalch, see Coinwalch.
Cynewulf the ^Etheling, ii. 430.
Cynewulf, Bishop of Lindisfarne, iii.

276.
Cynewulf, King of Wessex, i. clxxi ;

ii. 121, 431.
Cynewulf, poet. iii. 266.
Cynfedw, i. 15, 131.
Cyniberht, Abbot, ii. 136.
Cyniburga, see Cyneburga.
Cynibill, i. 141, 154.
Cynifrid, physician, iii. 215.
Cynred, i. clxxi.
Cynric, ii. 32, 428.
Cynuise, wife of Penda, i. 126, 127.
Cyprian, St., i. 276; ii. 339.
Cyprus, i. 229, 232 ; ii. 327, 340.
Cyril of Alexandria, ii, 315.
Cyrus, Patriarch of Constantinople,

ji- 342, 353-

INDEX

411

Cyssa, see Cissa.
Cyssebui, ii. 119.

Dacre, i. 133 ; ii. 108 ; iii. 209.
Daeccanhaam, i. clxviii.
Daegberht, see Dagobert.
Daeglesford, see Daylesford.
Daglingworth, i. 316.
Dagobert i., King of the Franks, i.

100, 293-300 ; ii. 265, 268 ; iii. 186.
Dagobert ii., King of Austrasia, i.

clxxxi, 302 ; ii. 57, 90; iii. 201.
Dagobert ill., King of the Franks, i.

clxxxii.
Daldun (Dalton-le-Dale), iii. 150.
Dalfinus, Count of Lyons, i. 163,

164.
Daheudini, i. Ixxxvi.
Dalriada, iii. 205.
Dalton, O. M., i. clxxvii.
Dalton, Yorks, iii. 157.
Dalton-le-Dale, iii. 150.
Daltun, see Dalton-le-Dale.
Damasus, Pope, i. 264 ; ii. 141.
Damian, Bishop of Pavia, ii. 76.
Damian, Bishop of Rochester, i.

cxxxiii, clxxxiv, 251, 317-
Damnonia, ii. 443.
Dances, public, ii. 335.
Dancing on a grave, iii. 236.
Dandie Dinmont, i. 338.
Danes, i. cxxiii, cxxxi, cxxxii, 369 ;

iii. 309, 310.
Daniel (Danihel), Bishop of Win-
chester, i. cv, cxiv, cxliv, cxlv,

cliii-clv, clxi, clxvii, clxxxv ; ii.

137, 427, 441, 447-45 1 > 494. 495»

502 ; iii. 348, 373.
Dante, i. Ixxxv ; iii. 289, 352.
Danube, ii. 61.

Darent (Tarent), river, i. cl ; ii. 449.
Darlington, iii. 55.
Dartmoor, ii. 458.
Dating methods, i. cxxii, cxxiii ; see

also Anno Domini.
David, King of Scotland, iii. 15.
David, St., i. 20.
Daylesford (Daeglesford), i. clvii.
Deacons, duties, iii. 250, 251.
Deaf and dumb cured, iii. 153, 1 54,

166, 167.
Dealwin, i. cxiii.
Deaniton, i. cxlix.
Debin, river, i. 152.
Deda, Abbot, i. cv.
Dedications : y^bbe, iii. 389 :

.^thelburga, iii. 232, 391 : ^^thel-

drytha, iii. 390 : Aidan, i. 98 ; iii.

351: Aldhelm, ii. 499: Botulf, i.

137; iii. 356: Chad, i. 357; iii.
359: Cross, ii. 120: Cuthberht,
iii. 36, 54, 55, 59: Eanswitha,
iii. 186, 386: Eata, iii. 384: F'ur-
sey, iii. 355 : Hilda, iii. 388 : Mil-
burga, iii. 211, 389: Mildred, iii.
227, 390, 391 : Oswald, i. 50, 70-
73, 80; iii. 351 : Oswin, i. 87;
iii. 351 : Peter, ii. 472 : Sexburga,
iii. 390 : Virgin Mary, iii. 387 :
Werburgh, iii. 221, 390, 391.

Dedications changed, iii. 306.

Deerhurst (Deorhurst), i. 202 ; ii.
294, 389.

Deira, i. 8, 34, 75, 76, 79, 83, 93,
125, I33» 134, 183, 214, 221 ; ii.
51, 53, 228, 229, 504; iii. 303.

Deira, Bishops of, i. clxxxvi.

Deira, Kings of, i. clxxxii, clxxxiii.

Deirewald (Beverley), iii. 155.

Deheubarth, ii. 488.

De la Mare, Prior, i. 90.

Deluge, iii. 283-285.

Demon thrashes a queen, ii. 100, lOl.

Demoniacs, ii. 335.

Demons, sacrifice to, iii. 249.

Dene, i. cl ; ii. 448.

Denesmor, iii. 36.

Denewald, iii. 234.

Denisesburn, i. 14.

Denmark, i. 30 ; iii. 228.

Deodato, Bishop, ii. 58 ; iii. 362.

Deorhurst, see Deerhurst.

Deprivation of bishops, alleged synod,
ii. 82.

Derawude, see Beverley.

Derby, iii. 221.

Derbyshire, i. 124, 125, 328.

Dereham, i. 121 ; iii. 223.

Derili, iii. 366.

Dervishes, i. Ix.

Derwentwater, iii. 40.

Desiderius (Didier), Bishop of Cahors,
i. 100, 296.

Deusdedit (Frithonas), Archbishop of
Canterbury, i. cxxiv, cxxxii, cxxxiv,
clviii, clxxxiv, 212, 247-250, 308,
322, 331.;."- 64; iii. 227.

Deventer, iii. 229.

Devil, vexed by, iii. 256.

Devil worship destroyed in Mercia,

ii- 35-
Devon, i. 39 ; ii, 430, 447, 458, 487 ;

iii. 358.
Dewsbury, iii. 304.
Dialect, Cumberland, iii. 91.
Dialect, Northumbrian, iii. 109, 307.
Dialects, English, iii. 266, 275, 276.
Dianius, Bishop of Csesarea, i. 259.

412

INDEX

Dictionary of Christian Biography,

i. clxxvi.
Dicul (Dicuil), priest, i. I15 ; ii. 1 14,

115, 454; iii. 352.
Diddlebury, ii. 262.
Didier, see Desiderius.
Dilington, i. clxxi.
Dilston, iii. 145.
Dimuldehale, iii. 192.
Dioceses divided, i. xxx, clix, clxvi ;

ii. 51-55, 103, 104, 174, 184, 419,

.448.
Dioceses, division, false decree, ii.

127.
Dionysius Exiguus, i. cxxii ; ii. 25,

315- .
Discussion, religious, prohibited, ii.

Diuma, Bishop of Mercia, i. clxxxv,

30, 123, 134, 13s.
Divorce, ii. 30, 167 ; iii. 362.
Documents in old walls, i. cxxxii.
Doddington, iii. 3.
Doddo, ii. 388, 389.
Dofreceastre, ii. 392.
Domna Ebba, iii. 210.
Domnall Breac, iii. 205.
Domneva, see Eormenburga.
Domnonia, ii. 487.
Domnus, see Donus.
Don, river, iii. 366.
Doncaster, ii. 128; iii. 349.
Donus (Domnus), Pope, i. clxxxi ;

ii. 65-68.
Dorbeni, Abbot of lona, iii. 138.
Dorchester (Dorceceastre, Dorcic,

Dorocina), i. 40-46, 323, 328 ; ii.

441.
Dorchester, Bishops of, i. clxxxiv.
Dorcic, see Dorchester.
Dormundcaster, see Caistor.
Dorocina, see Dorchester.

Dorset, i. 39; ii. 447.

Doulting (Duluting), i. clii ; ii. 450,

494, 495, 499-
Dover, i. cxxxix, 149 ; ii. 298, 357,

392, 492, 496.
Down, Cuthberht, iii. 88.
Drave, i. 72.
Dreams, iii. 187, 188, 219 ; see also

Visions.
Dress at Lindisfarne, i. 26, 27.
Driffield, ii. 220; iii. 201.
Drinking, iii. 383.
Drinks at Lindisfarne, i. 29.
Droitwich, i. clviii.
Drought in Sussex, ii. 1 16.
Drought in Yorkshire, iii. 168.
Druids, i. 27.

Drumalban, iii. 138, 139.

Drummelzier, iii. 36.

Drunkenness of clergy, iii. 238, 239.

Drust, iii. 366.

Dryhthelm and his visions, i. Ixii, 1 18 ;

ii. 156, 403; iii. 122-130, 341.
Drysdale, iii. 36.
Dublin, ii. 152 ; iii. 221.
Ducks, Cuthberht's, iii. 22, 23.
Duddon, river, i. 379.
Duddondale, i. 379.
Dufgal, son of Sumerled, iii. 78.
Dufton, iii. 59, 61.
Dugdale, Monasticon, i. clxxvii.
Duin Nectain, see Dun Nechtain.
Duluting, see Doulting.
Dumb, iii. 153, 154, 166, 167.
Dumbarney, i. 36.
Dumbarton, iii. 34.
Dumfriesshire, iii. 36, 37.
Dunbar, ii. 99 ; iii. 164, 196.
Duncadh, Abbot, iii. 138, 139.
Dundalk, iii. 354.
Dunedin, i. 9.
Dunfermline, iii. 88.
Dungueirn, i. 9.

Dun Nechtain, battle of, ii. 106-109.
Dun Nechtan, see Dun Nechtain.
Dunne, nun, i. clxi, clxii.
Dunnechtyn, see Dun Nechtain.
Dunnerdale, i. 379.
Dunnichen, see Dun Nechtain.
Dunstan, St., i. 95 ; ii. 370,497,

498 ; iii. 20, 54, 384.
Duntun, i. clxvi.
Dunutinga, i. 379.
Dunwich, i, 249 ; ii. 419 ; iii. 360.
Dunwich, Bishops of, i. clxxxiv.
Durham, i. xxxiii, Ixx, Ixxvii, Ixxix,

8, 60, 70, 85-87, 89, 91, 98; ii.

241, 279, 298 ; iii. 2, 9, 14-16, 31,

55, 64, 79, 82, 91, 92, 95, IDS,

207, 303, 309, 312, 319, 341-
Durham Castle Chapel, iii. 59.
Durham Cathedral, i. 59, 95 ; iii. 59,

64, 65.
Durham Liber Vitae, i. cxvi, cxvii.
Durham monks, i. 21.
Durham, relics at, i. (>(i, 67, 94, 95.
Durham Tower injured by lightning,

iii. 87.
Dyfed, ii. 488.

Dyfnaint, King of, see Geraint.
Dykes, i. 41.
Dynasties, Anglo-Saxon, i. clxxxii-

clxxxiv.
Dynbaer, ii. 99.
Dynnc, iii. 237.
Dysentery, iii. 256.

INDEX

413

Eaba (Eafha), leader of the Mercians,

i. 218.
Eaba, wife of /Ethelwalch, i. 335 ; ii.

Eahbe, see /Lbba.
Eadbald, Bishop, i. clxxi, clxxiv.
Eadbald (/Ethelbald), King of Kent,
i. clxxxii, 240-244 ; iii. 186, 225,

347-
Eadberht, Abbot, i. clxvii,
Eadberht, Bishop of Selsey, i, cxlviii,

cl ; ii. 448.
Eadberht (Eadberth), King of Kent,

i. cxxxix ; ii. 358.
Eadberht (^dbryht), King of North-

umbria, i. Iviii, 58; ii. 503, 511.
Eadberht, leader of the Mercians, i.

218.
Eadberht, St., Bishop of Lindisfarne,

i. clxxxvi, 99 ; ii. 181 ; iii. 52, 70,

106, 107.
Eadbirht, i. clxxi.
Eadburga, St., Abbess of Minster in

Thanet, i. cxiv ; iii. 21 1, 227, 229,

230, 233, 237, 388.
Eadburga, Abbess of Repton, ii. 414,

418 ; iii. 203, 212.
Eadda, Bishop, see Hreddi.
Eadfrid (Eadfrith), Bishop of Lindis-
farne, i. xcii, cvii, clxxxvi ; ii. 223,

407, 506 ; iii. 57, 70, 102, 108-III,

119-122, 132.
Eadfrid (Eadfrith), son of /Edwin, i.

49 ; ii. 418.
Eadfrith, iii. 354.
Eadgar, Bishop of Lindsey, i. clxxxvi ;

ii. 401.
Eadgar, King, i. cxxi, cxxxiv, cxlvi,

137 ; ii. 44, 194, 196, 396 ; iii.

216, 222, 386, 391.
Eadhaed (Eadhced), Bishop of Lindsey

and Ripon, i. clxxxvi, 212 ; ii. 35,

50, 182, 183, 200, 227, 401.
Eadmer, i. cxii, 95.
Eadmund, King of the English, i.

94 ; ii- 499 ; "i- 63, 197.
Eadred, Abbot of Carlisle, iii. 60, 62.
Eadric, King of Kent, i. cxxxv,

cxxxvi, clxvii, clxxxiii ; ii. 32, 126,

129, 130, 137, 356, 361, 368.
Eadric, son of Ida, ii. 51 1.
Eadulf, King of East Anglia, see

Aldwulf.
Eadulfingaham, ii. 513.
Eadwald, son of Wilfrid, iii. 364.
Eadwulf, King of Northumbria, i.

clxxxiii ; ii. 221, 222, 502-504.
Eafha, see Eaba.
Eahfrid, ii. 367, 407, 465 ; iii. 372.

Eahlston, Bishop, see Wahlstod.

Ealdberht, iii. 203.

Ealdcyre, ii. 442.

Ealdfrid, see Aldfrid.

Ealdred (Aldred), Archbishop of

York, i. cxii.
Ealdulf, i. cxlviii.
Ealdwine (Aldwin, Alwin, Elwin,

Wor), Bishop of Lichfield, i. cxl,

cliii, clxi, clxxv, clxxxvi, 70 ; ii.

382, 401.
Ealdwulf, see Aldwulf.
Earner, son of Ongen, i. 48.
Eanfleda (/lilonfleda). Queen, wife of

Oswy, i. 76, 77, 157, 158, l6l,

162, 168, 219, 226; iii. 198, 200,

201.
Eanfrid, King of Bernicia, i. clxxxii,

5-7, 9, 75 ; iii- 349-
Eanfrid, son of /Edwin, i. 55.'
Eangyth (Eangytha), i. cxiv ; iii, 233.
Eanmund, Abbot of Craike, ii. 505 ;

iii. 132. 133, 136.
Eanrid, King of Northumbria, i. cxvi.
Eanswitha, Saint and Abbess, i. 244 ;

iii. 186, 386.
Eappa, head of Selsey Abbey, ii.

115. 117.
Earconberht, King of Kent, i. clxxxii,

121, 160, 162, 243-246, 248, 320;

iii. 215, 219, 220, 362.
Earcongota, Abbess of Brie, i. 12 1 ;

iii. 219, 223, 224.
Earconwald (Ercnuwald, Erconwald,

Erkenwald, Herconwald), Bishop

of London, i. cvii, cxlvii, clxv,

clxvii, clxviii, clxxii, clxxiii, clxxxiv ;

ii- 42, 43, 45, 46, 157, 420-422,

477 ; iii. 230, 232, 347, 391.
Eardecanut, see Hardecanute.
Eardred, Bishop of Dunwich, ii. 419.
Eardulf, Bishop of Lindisfarne, iii.

60, 62.
Earhyth, i. clxxiii.
Earle, Laiid Charters^ i. cxxi.
Earmundeslea, i. cxiv.
Earn, ii. 40.
Easington, iii. 199.
East Anglia, i. xxviii, cv, 48, 49, 100-

122, 307, 357, 358 ; ii. I, 417-420 ;

iii. 189, 213, 352.
East Anglia, Bishopric divided, ii.

52, 419-
East Anglia, Bishops, i. 249 ; see also

Dunwich.
East Anglia, Kings of, i. clxxxii-

clxxxiv.
East Saxons, see Essex.
Easter, i. xciv, cxxii, cxxv, 19, 28,

414

INDEX

29, 95-97, 156-159, 164, 188-191,

193, 199, 200, 205, 213, 220, 226,
322, 352, 354; ii- 6, 26, 156, 159,
201, 310, 312-316, 365, 403, 406,
488-490; iii. 45, 137-139, 173,

194, 241, 255, 256, 357, 363, 366.
Easterige, see Eastry.
Eastmeon, i. 336.

Eastry (Easterige), i. 247.
Eata, Bishop of Lindisfarne and
Hexham, i. cvii, clxxiv, clxxxvi,

30, 98, 184, 199, 205, 221, 222,
367; ii. 53, 103, 105, 511, 515;
iii. 5, 6, 8, 18, 20, 31, 57, 154,

347, 384-
Eatberht, see Eadberht.
Eawa, ii. 380.
Ebba, Abbot, ii. 232.
Ebba, St., see ^bba.
Ebba, mother of Leobgytha, iii. 237.
Ebb's Nook, iii. 389.
Ebbsfleet, iii. 226.
Ebchester, iii. 204, 389.
Eboriacum, iii. 223.
Ebroin, Mayor of the Palace, i. 302,

303, 305, 306; ii. I, 33, 55, 56,

90 ; iii. 358.
Eburleigh, see Everley.
Ecburga, see Huaetburga.
Ecca, i. cxxxvi.
Ecce, see Acca.
Eccles (Scotland), iii. 36.
Ecgbald (Ecgbalt, Egbalt), Abbot, i.

clxviii, clxxiii-clxxv.
Ecgberht (Egbert), Archbishop of

York, i. xliv, xlv, xlvii, Iii, xcvi,

xcvii, xcix, cxviii, clxxv ; ii. 162,

164, 511, 515, 516; iii. 142, 172,

173, 266.
Ecgberht, Bishop of Lindisfarne, ii.

205 ; iii. 131, 346.
Ecgberht, King of Kent, i. cxxiv,

cxxxvi, cxlvii, clxii, clxxxiii, 146-

148, 216, 251, 306, 317, 329; ii.

32, 125; iii. 210, 219, 225, 361,

362.
Ecgberht (Egherte), King of West

Saxons, i. cxvi, 131 ; ii. 387.
Ecgberht, St., i. 97, 363; ii. 403-

406, 413; iii. 132, 138, 139.
Ecgfrid, Bishop, ii. 516.
Ecgfrid (Ecgfrith), King of Northum-

bria, i. clxxiv, clxxxiii, clxxxvi,

126, 223, 225, 226, 337, 340, 348,

350, 377, 379, 384 ; ii- 21, 34-38,
40-42, 47, 49, 50, 55, 73, 99, 102-
iio, 118, 119, 127, 147, 149, 153,
155, 157, 158, 174, 225, 228, 254,
277, 299, 301, 405, 502; iii. 31,

33, 55, 131, 132, 151, 198, 199,
206, 209, 213, 218, 225, 311, 312,

349, 358, 359, 363, 366.

Ecgred (Egred), Bishop of Lindis-
farne, i. liv.

Ecgric, King, see Egric.

Ecgrid, son of Eaba, ii. 515.

Ecgulf, ii. 511.

Ecgwald, sub-regulus, i. clxviii ; see
also Egwald.

Ecgwine (Ecgwin, Ecgwyn, Egwin,
Eggwin), Bishop of Worcester, i.
cxiii, cxxx, cliii, civ, clvii, clxii-
clxiv, clxxxvi ; ii. 378, 390-398,

425, 495 ; iii- 347-
Echdach, see Ceolwulf.
Echfrith, Abbot of Glastonbury, ii.

407.
Ecwulfingham, ii. 513.
Edburga, Queen of Mercia, ii. 387.
Edelm, ii. 511.
Edelwin (Edelwine, Ediluini, Edil-

wini), Proefect, i. 80, 92, 93 ; iii.

192.
Edelwine (Ethelwine), brother of

Coinwalch, iii. 361.
Edenhall, iii. 59, 60.
Edessa, i. 230.
Edgar, King, see Eadgar.
Edilred, see ^thelred.
Edilric, see yEthelric.
Ediluini, see Edelwin.
Ediluuard, see ^Ethelweard.
Edilwald, see Oidilwald, /Ethelwold.
Edilwini, see Edelwin.
Edinburgh, i. 9, 22, 129, 130 ; iii.

3.6-
Edith, sister of ^Ethelstan, i. 72.

Edlingham, ii. 513.

Edlu, iii. 236.

Edmund, monk, iii. 58.

Edmund, priest, i. 85.

Edmund, Saint and King, iii. 54, 88,

94, 352.,
Ednam, iii. 36.
Edric, see /Ethelhere, Eadric.
Education, ii. 365-368, see also

Schools.
Edward i., iii. 166, 228.
Edward ii., i. Ixxvii.
Edward iii., iii. 16, 81.
Edward vi., i. cix.
Edward the Black Prince, ii. 90.
Edward the Confessor, i, 65.
Edwine, see y4Ldwin.
Edwinesburht, i. 130.
Edwinstown, ii. 197.
Eels caught in nets, ii. 116.
Ega, see /Ega.

INDEX

415

Egbalt, see Ecgbald.

Egberht, Egbert, see Ecgberht.

Egburga, see Huaetburga.

Egelwin, Bishop of Durham, i. 85.

Egelwine, Abbot, iii. 228.

Egeria, ii. 173.

Egghald, i. clxxiii.

Eggo, Count of Lincoln, i. clxxv.

Eggwin, see Ecgwin.

Egherte, King, see Ecgberht.

Egica, King of the Visigoths, i.

clxxxi.
Eginhard, ii. 195.
Eglingham, ii. 513.
Egmond, i. 74.
Egred, see Ecgred.
Egric (Ecgric), King of East Anglia,

i. clxxxii, 49, 131.
Egwald, Bishop, i. cxlviii.
Egwald, see also Ecgwald.
Egwin, see Ecgwin.
Egypt, i. xxvii, 1 70-173, 180, 229-

232, 255, 275, 276, 280, 287 ; iii.

313, 314, 316.
Ejusdensca, i. 129, 130.
Elbe, i. 298, 302.
Elfirge, iii. 70.
Elfled, see /Elfleda.
Elford, ii. 41.
Elfrida, see /Elfthrytha.
Elfthritha, see Elfthrytha.
Elfwald, see Elfwold.
Elge, see Ely,
Eligius, see Eloi, St.
Ellerton, i. 79.
Ellesmere, i. 52.
Ellysden in Ryddesdale, iii. 59.
Elmet, iii. 187.

Elmham, Bishops of, i. clxxxiv ; ii. 419.
Elmham, North (Norfolk), i. 310.
Elmham, South (Suffolk), i. 310-316.
Elogius, see Eloi, St.
Eloi (Eligius, Elogius), St., Bishop

and jeweller, i. xxxvii, 116; ii.

259, 264-268, 270, 296, 297 ; iii.

354, 355-
Elsdon, iii. 59.

Elwin, see Ealdwine.

Ely, i. 62, 121, 137 ; ii. 36, 39, 90,

409, 419; iii. 184, 213-220, 223,

387, 390.
Embleton, iii. 59.
Embrun, ii. 9.
Emerita, ii. 4.
Emme (Emma), wife of Eadbald, i.

243-
Emme (Emmo), Bishop of Sens, i.

306.
Emmelia, i. 255.

Emmyldon (Embleton), iii. 59.
Emperors of Byzantium, i. clxxxi,

clxxxii.
Empire, Eastern, ii. 325-34.3.
Empire, Western, i. xiv, xviii.
Enamelling, ii. 262, 266-268.
Endowments, i. 378, 379, 384.
England, Augustine's mission, i.

xxiii-xxv.
England, evangelised by Irish, i. 3.
England, Northern, history, i. ix.
English, stubborn and barbarous

spirit, i. 16.
Enigmas, Aldhelm's, iii. 378, 379.
Eochaid, see Ccolwulf.
Eoda, i. cxviii.
Eoghenan (Noenan), King of the

Picts, i. cxvi.
Eolla, Bishop, i. cl ; ii. 448, 449.
Eolwulf, King of the Mercians, i.

cxlix.
Eomer, ii. 500.

Eormelind (Hermelinda), iii. 362.
Eormenbeorga, i. 244.
Eormenburga, Queen, wife of Ecgfrid,

ii. 38, 41, 102, 107, 119; iii. 206,

209, 225, 362.
Eormenburga(Domneva,Iorminburga,

Irmenburga, lurminburg), wife of

Merwald, i. cxxxvii, 244, 248, 329 ;

iii. 210, 225, 362.
Eormengilda, see Ermenilda.
Eormengitha, St., i. 244.
Eormenred, son of Eadbald, i. 243,

244 ; iii. 225, 362.
Eorpwine, Abbot, iii. 136.
Eosterwyn (Eosterwine), ii. 276, 299-

301, 306; iii. 149, 366.
Eoves, swineherd, ii. 393.
Eowa, see Eva.
Epiphanius (Epifanius), Bishop, i.

264 ; ii. 68, 81.
Epitaph, poetical, ii. 144, 145.
Eppa, ii. 372, 502.
Epternach, i. 60, 64, 71.
Erchinwald (Archenwald, Erchinoald,

Ercinwald), Mayor of the Palace,

i. 116, 166, 301 ; iii. 354, 355.
Ercnuwald, Erconwald, see Earcon-

wald.
Eremites, ii. 334.
Erith, ii. 409.

Erkenwald, see Earconwald.
Ermenberga, see Eormenburga.
Ermenilda (Eormengilda, Ermengilda,

Ermingild, Herminhilda), Abbess

of Ely, wife of Wulfhere, daughter

of Earconberht, i. cxxxvii, I2i,

320; iii. 219, 220, 223, 362, 391.

4i6

INDEX

Ermynge, see Ixminge.

Erneshaw, iii. 153, 154.

Erwig (Erviga), King of the Visigoths,

i. clxxxi ; ii. 16.
Escesdun, i. cxlv.
Escomb church, ii. 278, 293-297.
Esendic, i. 332.
Esi, Abbot, i. cv.
Esk, river, i. 129.
Essex, i. xxviii, cv, 138-155, 223,

241, 307 ; ii. 170, 364, 420-426 ;

iii. 357, 363-
Essex, Bishops of, i, clxxxiv, clxxxv,

249.
Essex, Kings of, i. clxxxii-clxxxiv.
Estrefeld, ii. 197.
Etan, see Tetta.
Staples (Cwantawic, Quantovic,

Quentovic), i. 306 ; ii. 55, 56, 320.
Etha the anchorite, iii. 135.
Ethcealchy, see Chelsea.
Ethel, see ^thel— , Albert, Oidil-.
Etho (Etto), St., iii. 352.
Eto, see Tetta.
Eucharist, i. 27, 28 ; ii. 338 ; iii.

264.
Eucharist for the dead, ii. 337.
Eugenius I., Pope, i. 165, 237.
Eulalia, nun, ii. 477 ; iii. 232.
Euphues, iii. 375.
Europe, Central, ii. 297, 298.
Eusebius, see Husetberht.
Eusebius, Bishop of Csesarea, i. 260,

261.
Eusebius Scotigena, iii. 49.
Eustathius of Sebaste, i. 259, 285.
Eutropius, i. 187.
Eutychians, ii. 336.
Eva, Queen of Mercia, ii. 387.
Eva (Eowa), son of Pubba, i. 48.
Everley (Eburleagh), i. cxliii.
Evesham (Cronuchomme), i. cxiii,

cxv, cxxx, civ, clxii-clxiv, clxxiv ;

ii. 278, 290, 390-397, 425 ; iii. 356,

386.
Ewes in Eskdale, iii. 36.
Exaltation of the Cross, ii. 350.
Exanford, iii. 56.
Excommunication, i. 151.
Excommunication of the Pope, i. 238.
Exe, river, i. cliii ; ii. 501.
Exeter, ii. 443, 444 ; iii. 368.
Exmoor, ii. 491.
Ejnre, Archbishop, i. clxxvi ; iii. 18,

Faelan, see Fullan.
Faelchu, Abbot, iii. 139.
Faerpinga, i. 135.
Fahren, i. 21.

Failbhe, iii. 137.
Fairway Strait, ii. 105.
Faith, profession of, ii. 76.
Fanaticism of ascetics, ii. 63.
Fara, St., iii. 223.
Faremoutier-en-Brie, i. 121, 167 ; iii.

183, 223-225.
Faricius, Abbot of Abingdon, i. cxi ;

ii. 452.
Fame, i. Ixv, clxxiv, 21 ; ii. 105 ;

iii. I, 21, 22, 24, 26, 42, 70, 94,

120, 123, 192, 351-
Farnham, i. clxvii, 71.
Faro, Bishop of Meaux, i. 306.
Fasts and fasting, i. 18, 28, 29; iii.

156, 243, 245, 246, 259, 260, 334,

335-
Faulda, i. cxxvii.
Fearn, iii. 352.

Feast, St. Cuthberht's, iii. 83, 84.
Felgild, hermit of Fame, iii. 121,

122.
Felix, Bishop of Aries, ii. 72, 73 ;

iii. 352.
Felix, Bishop of East Anglia, i. cv,

31, 320.
Felix, monk of Crowland, i. cxi ; ii.

407, 409.
Fenelon, i. 204.
Fens, i. 332 ; ii. 408 ; iii. 368.
Fercanhamstede, i. clxxiii.
Feretory, St. Cuthberht's, iii. 82-87.
Ferns, iii. 187.
Ferramere, i. cli ; ii. 443.
Ferryhill, iii. 389.
Fether muthe, i. 332.
Ffolcburga, Abbess, i. clxvi.
Field labour done by women, ii. 167.
Fighting prohibited to servants of

God, iii. 260.
Filey, i. 70.
Filioque, ii. 71.
Fina, ii. 149, 150.
Finan, St., Bishop of Northumbria, i.

clxxxv, 94, 98, 99, 123, 135, 139,

140, 158, 159; ii. 160; iii. 205.
Finchale, i. 205 ; iii. 94.
Finlog, regulus of South Munster, i.

loi ; iii. 354.
Finn, i. 98. |
Fintan, son of Finlog, i. loi ; iii.

.353- .
Fires, i. cxxxi : at new moons, ii.

336. ^
Firth of Tay, ii, 40, 109.
Fiscesburna, i. cxlix.
Fishing taught by Wilfrid, ii. 117.
Fishlake, iii. 59.
Flamborough, i. 70.

INDEX

4^7

Fland Fiona, ii. 149, 150.

Flanders, iii. 228.

Flavochat, mayor of the palace, i.

Fledanburgh, i. clvi ; ii. 390.

Flemings, i. 297.

Flesh of sacrifices, iii. 249.

Flesh of unclean animals, iii. 261.

Flesh, see also Food.

Flesh-eating, iii. 257.

Fleury, iii. 340.

Flodden, iii. 82.

Florence, iii. 322.

Florence of Worcester's Chronicon^

i. cxiv.
Fodder for king's horses, iii. 165.
Foilan, Foillan, see Fullan.
Folcard, Abbot of Thorney, i. cxii,

137; iii. 347.
Folies, i. 332.
Folkestone, i. cxxxix, 244 ; iii. 186,

386.
Fontmell, river, i. clxx.
Food, animals as, iii. 256, 257 : of

nuns, iii. 182 : unclean, iii. 243.
Forbes, Bishop A. P., Kalendars

of Scottish Saints, i. clxxvi.
Forceps, silver, iii. 66, 67, 71.
Forcett (Forsete), iii. 59, 6r.
Ford, Northumberland, ii. 98.
Fordred, see Forthere.
Fordstreta, ii. 129.
Forgeries, i. cxx, cxxiii-clxxv, 97,

243> 329-331 ; »• 31, 45» 65, 96,

97, 126, 243, 343. 350, 358, 359,

363, 374, 378, 381, 390, 391, 402,

415, 431, 448, 450, 453, 470, 501 ;

iii. 227, 228, 348, 367.
Fornication, iii. 239, 244, 251.
Forsete, see Forcett.
Forsham, iii. 354.
Forth, i. 15, 21, 128-130; ii. 40.
Forthere (Fordred, Fortheri), Bishop

of Sherborne, i. cxiv, cliii-clv, clxi,

clxxxv ; ii. 372, 500-502.
Fortheri, bodyguard of i^idwin, ii.

500.
Fortrenn, ii. 107.
Fosse, i. 119, 120.
Fosser, John, Prior of Durham, iii.

79.

Fostat, see Cairo.

Fowler, Canon, i. clxxvi.

Foxcombe Hill, i. 41.

France, ii. 72 ; iii. 189, 312, 314,

360-
Francia, iii. 39.

Francis of Assisi, St., ii. 413 ; iii. 29.
Franco, monk, iii. 58.

VOL. III. — 27

Franconia, ii. 348.

Franks, i. xxvi, 115, 116, 293, 294,

305 ; ii. 90.
Franks, Kings of the, i. clxxxi, clxxxii.
Fredegar, i. clxxviii.
Frederick Barbarossa, Emperor, ii.

241.
Freeman, E. A., i. ix.
Freetha, iii. 196.
Freis, see Friesland.
Freithbyrg, ii, 58.
Fresca, river, ii. 153, 507.
Freshwell, river, i. 142.
Fridberht, see Frithuberht.
Fridegils, monk, iii. 134.
Fridegod, see Frithegoth.
Fridogitha, see Frithogith.
Fridovald, see Frithuwald.
Friesland, i. xxxviii, 65 ; ii. 56, 203,

234, 406, 449 ; iii. 140.
Frignualdus, Bishop, i. clxv.
Frigyth, iii. 196.
Frith, ii. 40.

Frith stool at Hexham, i. 377.
Frithegoth (Fridegod), poet, i. cxi ;

ii. 243.
Fritheston, Bishop of Winchester,

iii. 64, 98.
Frithogith (Fridogitha), Queen of

Wessex, i. civ ; ii. 501 ; iii. 40.
Frithonas, see Deusdedit.
Frithuberht (Fridberht, Fruidberht),

Bishop of Hexham, iii. 40, 142.
Frithuwald (Frithowald), ealdorman,

i. cxlvii ; ii. 44, 46, 424.
Frithuwald, Bishop of Whitherne,

iii. 34, 40.
Frithuwald (Fridovald, Frithewald),

monk, i. clix.
Fritzlar, iii. 235.
Frohens-le-Grand, iii. 354.
Frome (Froom), i. cxxviii, cxliii ; ii.

465, 494, 496.
Fruidberht, see Frithuberht.
Fulda, river, ii. 257.
Fulgentius, St., ii. 347.
Fullan (Faelan, Foilan, Foillan), St.,

i. 115, 116, 119, 120; iii. 352.
Fullingadich, ii. 45.
P'urness, iii. 58.
Fursey (Fursa, Furseus), St., i. cvi,

101-120; ii. 453, 475; iii. 341,

352-356.

Gadfred, i. clxv.
Gaedyne, i. 378.
Gaeta, ii. 354.
Gai Campi, i. 128.
Gainford, iii. 131, 316.

4i8

INDEX

Gala Water, i. 130.
Galicia, Spain, ii. 4.
Gall, St.,ii. 38.
Gallicanism, i. 204.
Galloway, iii. 34.
Galtres, iii. 131.
Games, iii. 2, 91.
Gammack, J., i. clxxvi.
Gangulf, ii. 321, 322.
Garionum, i. 120.
Gariston, i. 80.

Gateshead, i. 76, 123; iii. 351.
Gaul, i. xvii, xix, xxi, clxxviii, 174,
181, 183, 210, 293; iii. 39, 328,

369-
Gebmund (Gemund, Gemmund),
Bishop of Rochester, i. cxxxvii,
clx, clxxiii, clxxxiv ; ii. 49, 361,

363.
Geddawerda, i. 130.
Geddinge, i. clxxii.
Gelges, i. loi.

Gemmund, Gemund, see Gebmund.
Genevieve, ii. 264.
Genoa, i. 35, 36.
George i., i. c.

George, Patriarch, ii. 78, 79, 81, 330.
Geraint(Geruntius), KingofDyfnaint,

ii. 430, 487.
Gerald, Archbishop, iii. 166.
Germain, St., Bishop of Paris, ii. 264.
Germans, struggle with Slavs, i. 299.
Germanus, i. 170.

Germanus, Bishop (mythical), i. cxlvi.
Germanus, Patriarch, ii, 342.
Germanus, Prior, i, 90.
Germanus, St., Bishop of Auxerre, i.

122.
Germany, i. xxxviii, xxxix, cxiii, cxiv ;

ii. 403, 405, 450; iii. 230, 312.
Germinus (Jurmanus), St., i. 122,

137 ;. iii- .356.,
Gerontius, i. cxiv ; ii. 365.
Geruntius, King, see Geraint.
Geve, Abbot, iii. 62.
Gewissi, i. 39 ; ii. 130, 131, 134 ; see

also West Saxons.
Gilbert, Bishop, iii. 347.
Giles, J. A., i. clxxv, clxxvi.
Gilling, i. 80, 378.
Gilsland, i. 338; iii. ii.
Girold, Abbot, ii. 273.
Girvan, iii. 36.
Gislbereswyrth, i. clxxii.
Giude, Sea of, i. 130.
Giudi, i. 129.

Giudin, Sea of, i. 130 ; see Forth.
Glass-makers and glass-making, ii.

269, 272 ; iii. 365.

Glass window in York Cathedral, i.

382, 383 ; iii. 91, 92.
Glastonbury (Avalon, Glastingaburg,

Glastingoea), i. cxliii, cl-clv, 95 ;

ii. 124, 321, 407, 432, 442-444,

450, 501, 502 ; iii. 197, 236, 352,

384..
Glencairn, iii. 36.
Glendale, iii. 3.
Glenholm, iii. 36.
Gloucester, i. clviii, 63, 64, 70, 328 ;

ii. 385-388; iii. 197, 218, 351,

368.
Gloucestershire, i. 328 ; ii. 185, 385,

388, 401.
Gloves of St. Cuthberht, iii. 87.
Goatshead, see Gateshead.
Gobban (Goban, Gobian), St., i. 1 15;

iii. 352.
Godefroy, Abbot, ii. 500.
Godparents, i. 40 ; iii. 252.
Godwin, Archbishop of Lyons, ii.

361.
Godwyn the Dean, iii. 228.
Goldsmiths, social position, ii. 268.
Gomatrude, i. 296.
Good works, iii. 252.
Gortyna in Crete, ii. *J%.
Gospatric, dapifer^ iii. 385.
Gospels in Cuthberht's coffin, iii. 68,

102-104.
Gospels presented by Athelstane, iii.

Gospels, Lindisfarne, iii. 61, 102,
108-118.

Gossiping by nuns, iii. 178.

Goxhill, i. 356.

Graetecros, i. 332.

Grandmont, ii. 263.

Grange, iii. 36.

Granta, ii. 409.

Grantchester, ii. 409.

Grasmere, i. 71.

Gratz, i. 72.

Gray, Walter de, Archbishop of York,
ii. 245.

Greek fire, ii. 60.

Greek study, and influence, i. xiii,
XV, xxvi, xxxi, xxxii ; ii. 160, 161,
367; iii. 314, 315, 359-361, 368.

Greenwell, Canon, i. iii.

Greglade, ii. 161.

Gregorian monks, i. xl.

Gregorovius, F., i. clxxviii.

Gregory, Exarch, i. 231.

Gregory i. the Great, Saint and Pope,
i. xi, XV, xvi, xviii, xix, xxxiv,
xlvii, Ix-lxii, Ixxvi, Ixxxvi, cvi,
cxix, cxxii, cxxix, i, 31, 102, 103,

INDEX

419

163, 175. 179, 211, 253, 254, 265,
278, 287-289, 308, 355 ; ii. 9, 10,
^1, 93. 143, 165, 175, 201, 204,
349, 371, 376; iii. 175. 340, 359,
360, 362.
Gregory 11., Saint and Pope, i. xvi,
cxix, clxxxii; ii. 319, 353, 355,

356, 432,437, 439; iii; 150-
Gregory Nazianzen, St., i. 254, 256-

262, 269, 282.
Gregory of Nyssen, Saint and Bishop,

i. 254, 275.
Gregory of Tours, Saint and Bishop,

i. xxi, cxxii, 42; ii. 61, 211, 265.
Grimoald, Mayor of the Palace, i.

302 ; ii. 57.
Grimuald, Duke of Beneventum, i.

Grisar, H., i. clxxviii.

Guash, The, iii. 210.

Guda, Abbot, i. clxviii, clxxiii.

Gudfrid, Abbot of Lindisfarne, iii.

120, 123.
Gueith Linn Garam, ii. 107.
Guerdmund (Wermund), i. 48 ; iii.

192.
Guest-house in monasteries, i. cliv ;

iii. 384.
Guinion, i. 130.
Guledig, i. 8.
Guthlac, St., i. Ix, cxi, clvi, 137 ;

ii. 380, 381, 407-416; iii. 46, 171,

202, 212.
Guthlacings family, ii. 408.
Guthred, iii. 62.
Gwenedotia, i. 11.
Gwynned, see Wales, North.
Gyruy, iii. 365.

Gyrvii, i. 333 ; ii. 36 ; iii. 366.
Gyrvum, see Jarrow.
Gyrwas, i. 330.

Hackness (Hacanos), ii. 220, 418;
iii. 195, 196, 201-204, 212.

Haddan, Abbot, i. clxxiv.

Haddan and Stubbs, Councils and
Ecclesiastical Documents^ i. cxxi.

Haddenham, iii. 218, 388.

Haddi, i. clxxi.

Hadrian (Adrian), Abbot, i. xxxi,
Ixxxiv, cxxxv-cxxxvii, 252, 287,
304-306, 309; ii. I, 2, 23, 159,
175, 179, 253, 365-372, 453-455,
457, 467, 492 ; iii. 360, 368.

Hadstock, iii. 216.

Hadulac, see Heatholac.

Hadwine, see /Edwine.

Hsedda, see Hseddi, Headda.

Hseddi (Eadda, Haedde), Bishop of

Winchester, i. cv, cxiv, cxviii,
cxliii, cli, clii, clxiii, clxvii, clxviii,
cixx-clxxiii, clxxxiv, clxxxv, 44,
366 ;ii. 50, 381, 440-447, 451,
461, 475, 491 ; iii- 39, 369-

Haefe, river, ii, 506.

Haeg, i. cxxxvii.

Haemgils, ii. 403 ; iii. 128.

Haethfield, battle, see Hemgils.

Hagona (Haguna), Abbot, i. cxlviii,
clxxii, clxxiii.

Haigh, Father, i. clxxvii.

Hailes, iii. 36.

Hairdressing, iii. 309.

Hair growing after death, iii. 66.

Haldene, ii. 516.

Haldwulf, see Aldwulf.

Halgut, brook, i. 12.

Halgutstad, i. 12.

Hali eland, see Lindisfarne.

Hallgarth, see Halgut.

Hallington, i. 14.

Halsall, iii. 58.

Halydene (Heavenfield), battle, i.
14.

Hampshire, i. 43, 328, 336; ii. 113,
136, 138, 447.

Handbury (Hanbury, Heanbirig,
Heanburg), i. clvi ; ii. 389; iii. 220,
221.

Hansley, ii. 513.

Hardecanute (Eardecanut), King, ii.

395-
Hare, flesh of, iii. 256.

Hare, Sir Thomas, iii. 98.

Haripert (Herebercht), Lombard

King, ii. 351.
Harold Harefoot, i. 65.
Plarold II., King, ii. 115.
Harpham, iii. 152, 171.
Harp-playing, iii. 262, 263.
Harrington, iii. 351.
Hartlepool (Heortesig, Heruteu), i.

Ixxxvi, 92; ii. 185 ; iii. 186, 187,

189-192, 197, 303, 317, 351, 389.
Hatfield Chase, iii. 200, 349 ; see also

Haethfield.
Hathored, Bishop, i. clxvi.
Hathufrith, priest, ii. 232.
Hathuwald, shepherd, iii. 199.
Hatton, i. 133.
Hauster, iii. 36.
Havykshead, iii. 58.
Haxheved, iii. 58.
Haydon Bridge, iii. 59, 60.
Heaburg, see Bugga.
Heacanas, see Hecanas.
Headda (Haedde, Hedda), Abbot, I.

cxxx, cxxxii ; iii. 348.

420

INDEX

Headda (Hcedde, Hedda, Haeddi),
Bishop of Lichfield and Leicester,
i. cxl, clvi, clx, clxiii, clxv, clxix,
clxxii, clxxxvi ; ii. i6i, 184, 381,

389, 4I3» 440, 444-

Healaugh, iii. 186, 187.

Hean, i. cxlv, cxlvi ; ii. 1 19-123,
431 ; iii. 348.

Heanburg, see Handbury.

Hearnbriht, i. clxxi.

Heathfield, Synod, ii. 73-75. 127,
169, 418 ; see also Haethfield,

Heatholac (Hadulac), Bishop of Elm-
ham, i. clxxxiv ; ii. 419, 420.

Heavenfield, i. 12-15, 27, 47; iii.

303.
Hebrew, Aldhelm s knowledge, iii.

369-

Hebureahg, i. clxxiii.

Hecanas, i. 329 ; ii. 398, 399, 401 ;
iii. 210, 358.

Hedburga, nun, iii. 232.

Hedda, see Hseddi, Headda.

Heddi, see ^ddi.

Hedilburga, see ^thelburga.

Heiu, St., and Abbess, i. 92, 98;
iii. 186, 187, 189, 195, Z%(>\seealso
Bega.

Helen, St., iii. 389.

Helenstow, ii. 120.

Heliand, poem, iii. 274.

Helias, St., i. Ixxiii.

Helisend, iii. 15.

Hell, i. XXXV ; iii. 281, 282, 288-291.

Helmsley, L 70.

Helmuald, i. xciii.

Hemgils (Cengisl, Coengils, Hemgisl,
Hengisl, Haemgils), Abbot of
Glastonbury, i. cli-cliii, civ; ii.
403, 443 ; "i- 200, 235.

Hen's Well, iii. 352.

Hendon, ii. 121.

Hengisl, see Hemgils.

Henley, Commissioner, iii. 92.

Henry i., iii. 196.

Henry iv., iii. 81, 166.

Henry 'V., iii. 166.

Henry vi., iii. 89.

Henry vil., iii. 89.

Henry Viil., ii. 39.

Henwood, ii. 120, 121.

Heortesig, see Hartlepool.

Heortford, see Herutford.

Heptarchy, ii. 373.

Heraclius, Emperor, I. xIt, 228, 231,

233. 299 ; ii. 341 ; iii. 313-
Herbert, Bishop of Thetford, iii. 223.
Herbert, St., see Hereberht, St.
Herconwald, see Earconwald.

Herculanus of Perugia, i. 287.
Herebald, Abbot of Tynemouth, i.

84; iii. 152, 158.
Herebercht, see Haripert.
Hereberht, ii. 286.
Hereberht (Herbert), St., iii. 40, 41.
Hereford, i. 328 ; ii. 382, 398-401 ;

iii. 358.
Herefordshire, ii. 293.
Herefrid, Abbot of Lindisfarne, iii.

42-46, 91.
Hereric, ii. 418 ; iii. 187.
Heresies, i. xr, xix, 259.
Heresuitha (Hereswitha), Queen, i.
121, 122, 125; ii. 418; iii. 187,
188, 202, 356.
Hereswythe, nun, i. cxxxix.
Heretics, ii. 8 ; iii. 241, 242.
Herewald (Herwald), Bishop, i. cliii,

clxi.
Herford in Westphalia, i. 64.
Heriburga, Abbess, iii. 204.
Hermelinda, see Eormelind.
Hermits, Irish, iii. 352.
Hernshaw(Herneshalg), iii, 153, 154.
Herodham, ii. 21.
Herotunum, ii. 449.
Hersfeld, iii. 192.
Hertford, see Herutford.
Heruteu, see Hartlepool.
Herutford (Heortford, Hertford), i.
309; ii. 2, 12, 20, 174, 176, 178;
iii. 361.
Hestild, brook, i. 12,
Hethto, ii. 393.
Heversham, i. 133.
Hewald the Black, ii. 403, 406.
Hewald the White, ii. 403, 406.
Hexham, i. 11, 12, 27, 70, 307, 367-
378; ii. 39, 54, 103, 158, 183,
206, 227-230, 238, 240, 290, 293,
296; iii. 140, 144, 145, 154, 312,

347.
Hexham, Bishops of, i. clxxxvi.
Hexham, William de, iii. 87.
Hexhamshire, i. 367 ; ii. 36.
Hextildesham (Hextoldesham), i. 12.
Heysham, i. 384.
Hickes, G., Thesaurus^ i. clxxvii.
Hidaburn (Hydaburn), i. clxxii.
Hidburga, ii. 477 ; iii. 233.
Hiddila, ii. 135.
Hierarchy, English, subordinate to

Canterbury, ii. 12.
Higebald, see Sigbald.
Highley, i. cxlix.
Hii, see lona.

Hilary, Bishop of Aries, i. 170.
Hild, goddess of war, iii. 190.

INDEX

421

Hild, see also Hilda.
Hilda, St., i. xxxv, cvi, 92, 98, 121,
122, 125, 185-187; ii. 185, 210,
321, 384, 418, 440; iii. 23, 151,
152, 171, 186-195, 197, 198, 201,
202, 232, 262, 263, 271, 364, 388.
Hilddigyth, iii. 191.
Hildelitha, Abbess of Barking, ii.

439, 477 ; iii. 211, 229, 231-235.
Hildiberht, iii. 190.
Hildithryth, iii. 190, 191.
Hildiwald, iii. 190.
Hildkirk, iii. 388.
Himeiius, i. 254.
Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, i.

xcvi, 213 ; iii. 264.
Hincmar of Laon, i. 213.
Hindamus, see Niridamus.
Hinderwell (Hilderwell), iii. 388.
Hirminhilda, see Erminilda.
Hispalis, ii. 4.
Histon, iii. 390.

Hlothaire, Bishop, see Chlothaire.
Hlothaire (Chlothaire, Llothaire),
King of Kent, i. cxxxv, cxxxvi,
clxvii, clxxxiii ; ii. 32, 48, 74, 125-
129, ,137, 360, 398; iii. 219.
Hludwig, ii. 222.
Hodges, Mr., i. clxxvii.
Hodilred (QEdilred), i. clxviii.
Hoe, i. cxxxix.
Holborn, iii. 3, 390.
Hole, Mr., i. clxxvi.
Holkham, iii. 222.
Holland, i. 74.
Hollenthal, i. 71.
HoUum, i. 74.
Holophernes, iii. 375.
Holy Island, see Lindisfarne.
Holy Spirit, double procession, i.

xxxiv.
Homelea, river, ii. 134.
Homer, i. 256 ; iii. 364.
Homicide, iii. 240, 261.
Homme, ii. 393, 394.
Honey, ii. 335 ; iii. 256.
Honoratus(Honorat), St., i. 169, 170,

182.
Honorius, Archbishop of Canterbury,
i. clxxxiv, 31, 37, 39, 160, 163,
309 ; ii. 77.
Honorius I., Emperor, ii. 143.
Honorius i.. Pope, i. 35, 37, 38; ii.

345-.
Honorius II., Pope, i. 45.
Plonouring father and mother, iii. 261.
Hoo, i. clxxiii.
Hoo St. Werburgh, iii. 221.
Hooc (Hooi), Abbot, i. clxviii, clxxiii.

Hooker, Judicious, i. 263.

Hope, Sir W. H. St. John, i. clxxvii.

Horley, iii. 390.

Horn, Dean, i. cix.

Horoscopes, ii. 445.

Horseflesh, iii. 256.

Horse-racing, iii. 159.

Hospitality at Lindisfarne, i. 26.

Hours, i. 27, 275-278, 281.

Howard, Lord William, i. 338.

Howburn, iii. 20.

Howorth, Rupert, i. clxxix.

Hoxne, i. 310.

Hrcopadun (Hrepadun), see Repton.

Hreutford, ii. 136.

Hrofi, see Rochester.

Hrothuar (Hrouuar, Hrounari), Ab-
bess, i. clxi, clxii.

Hruddingpool, ii. 392.

Hruringham, iii. 3.

Hrypis, iii. 364.

Huretberht (Eusebius, Husetbercht,
Hwastberht), Abbot, i. Ixxxvi, xc,
xciv ; ii. 319; iii. 148-151, 221.

Huaetburga (Ecgburga, Egburga), i.
cxiv ; iii. 202-204 ; see also With-
burga.

Hugabeorg, i. cl ; ii. 448.

Hugh, Abbot of Selby, iii. *]^.

Hugh, Prankish King, ii. 497.

Hugon, Abbot, i. clxvii.

Hull, i. 22.

Hull, river, iii. 155.

Humber, ii. 320, 411 ; iii. 213.

Humble, river, ii. 134.

Humeratun, i. cxxxvii.

Humfred, Bishop, i. cxlvii ; ii. 46.

Humility of bishops and kings, i. 33,

82.
Humshaugh, i. 13.
Huna, St., iii. 213, 214, 387.
Huneya, iii. 215, 387.
Hunred, monk, iii. 58, 61.
Huns, ii. 62.
Huntendune port, i. 332.
Hunting, penalty for, ii. 167.
Huntingdonshire, i. cxxxiii ; ii. 409.
Hunwald, i. 80.
Hwsetberht, see Huaetberht.
Hwaetred, i. 347.
Hwiccas, i. clviii, clix, 328, 329 ; ii.

185, 382-387, 509, 510; iii- 225.
Hwiccia, iii. 361.
Hwittingaham, ii. 513.
Hy, see lona.
Hydaburn, see Hidaburn.
Hygbald, Abbot, i. 363.
Hygeberht, Bishop, i. clxvi.
Hyglac, iii. 346.

422

INDEX

Hymn, first English, iii. 267, 268.
Hymn in praise of Fursey, i. 119.
Hyssington, iii. 390.

Iberia, ii. 326.

Icanho (Ikanhoe), i. 136-138 ; ii.
256.

Iceland, iii. 314.

"Ichtbricht Epscop," see Ecgberht,
St.

Iclings caln, ii. 408.

Ida, King, i. 23 ; ii. 511 ; iii. 235.

Idaberga, St., i. 71.

Idle, river, i. xxvii.

Idols to be destroyed, i. 244.

Ilkley, iii. 316.

Illuminator of books, iii. 133.

Imma, ii. 127, 129.

Immin, i. 218.

Importunus, Bishop of Paris, i. 325.

Ina, King, see Ini.

Incantations, iii. 247.

Incense, iii. 250.

Incest, ii. 30.

Inchiquin, i. 102 ; iii. 352.

Inchkeith, i. 129.

Indulgence, iii. 41.

Infallibility of Pope, ii. 347.

Infangtheof, ii. 239.

Infeppingwm, i. 135.

Infirm in monasteries, iii. 254, 384.

Ingeld, Abbot, iii. 235, 236.

Ingetlingum, i. 80, 155, 219, 378;
ii. 103, 256.

Inguald (Incguald, Incwald, Ingulf),
Bishop of London, i. clxi, clxxv,
clxxxv.

Ingulph, priest, i. clxxv.

Ingwald, iii. 12.

Inhrypun, see Ripon.

Ini (Ina), King of Wessex, i. Iviii,
cxlii-cxlvi, cxlviii, cl, clii-clv,
clxvii, clxxxiii, clxxxiv ; ii. 132,
220, 356, 357, 364, 380, 427-439,
448, 45o» 462, 471, 477, 494, 501 ;
in. 235, 236, 348.

Inisboufinde, i. Ixxxvi.

Inisfail, ii. 151.

Innocent, Pope, i. 173 ; iii. 241, 252.

Inscriptions, Latin, iii. 317, 318.

Introduction, i. Ixxxiii-clxxx.

Inveresk, i. 129, 130.

Invertig, iii. 36.
lodeo, Sea of, i. 130.
lona (Hii, Hy), i. xxvii, 10, 16,. 17,
19, 20, 22-24, 31, 32, 97, 98, 135,
141, 159, 196, 203 ; ii. 107, 149,
154, 156, 181, 257, 308, 310, 316,
502; iii. 137, 138.

lona, end of primacy, iii. 139.
lorminburga, see Eormenburga.
lova, real name of lona, i. 16.
Iplesfleot (Ebbsfleet), iii. 226.
Ipsden, i. 36.
Ipswich, iii. 227, 391.
Irekirk (Hildkirk), iii. 388.
Ireland, i. xxxvii, 5, 25, 104, 1 12,

113, 115, 116, 302, 321, 324; ii.

57, 90, 104, 149, 405, 407, 458,

474; iii. 60, 315-317, 354, 372.
Ireland, poem on, by King Aldfrid,

ii. 151, 152.
Ireland, schools, ii. 401-407, 466, 467.
Iris, river, i. 256.
Irish architecture in England, i. 200,

201.
Irish Church, see Church, Irish.
Irish churches desolated by Ecgfrid,

ii. 105.
Irish hermits, iii. 352.
Irish missionaries, i. 2, 3.
Irminburga, see Eormenburga.
Irton, i. 133.
Isca, river, i. 129.
Isidore, St., Bishop of Seville, i.

Ixxxv, 175 ; ii. 5, 6, 13 ; iii. 234,

340.
Italy, i. xviii, xix, 232, 233, 235, 287,

305; ii. 3, 452 ; iii. 312-315, 317,

328, 330, 332, 360, 361.
Itchen, river, ii. 136.
Ithamar, Bishop of Rochester, i.

cxxxiii, clxxxiv, 331.
lurmenburga, see Eormenburga.
lurminburg, see Eormenburga.
Ivor, son of Alan of Armorica, ii. 427.
Ixminge (Ermynge), iii. 213;.

Jacobites, ii. 82.

James, Deacon, i. 3, 158, 187 ; iii.

Januarius, St., i. Ixxiii.

Jarrow (Gyrvum), i. xxxii, xxxiv,
Ixxxiii, Ixxxiv, Ixxxvii, xciii, cix,
86, 87, 137 ; ii. 103, 153, 196, 273,
276-280, 287-293, 298, 312 ; iii. 6,
94, 121, 138, 148-151, 197, 266,
304, 317, 321, 327, 332, 333, 341,

365-367, 373-
Jaruman, Bishop of Mercia, i. clxxxv,

212, 213, 223, 224, 307, 331, 332,

349 ; ii. 422.
Jedburgh, i. 130.
Jerome, i. Ixxx, 261, 264, 276, 325 ;

iii. 234 : Galilean Psalter, i. 162.
Jerusalem, ii. 80, 330, 334; iii. 315.
Jew merchants, i. 230.
Jewellery, Merovingian, ii. 264-272.

INDEX

423

Jews and Christian slaves, ii. 8.
Jews, persecution, i. 16, 299.
Jews, times of prayer, i. 276.
Jobianus, ii. 64.

Jocelyn, monk, iii. 228, 346, 347.
Johanna, widow of Black Prince, i.

90.
John I., Pope, ii. 213.
John IV., Pope, i. cxxiv ; iii. 20S.
John v., Pope, i. clxxxi ; ii. 348.
John VI., Pope, i. cxxix, clxxxi ; ii.

204, 209, 210, 351 ; iii. 152.
John VII., Pope, i. clxxxi ; ii. 351-

353-
John XVI., Pope, iii. 339.
John, Archbishop of Aries, i. 305.
John, Bishop of Portus Romanus, ii.

78, 84.
John, Bishop of Reggio, ii. 79.
John, Bishop of Thessalonica, ii.

79-

John, chanter, i. Ixxxiv ; ii. 69, 70,
73, 274, 275.

John Chrysostom, St., i. 173.

John, Deacon, ii. 78.

John, Notary, ii. 85.

John of Beverley, St., Bishop of Hex-
ham and York, i. Ixxxiii, cvi, cxii,
clxxxvi ; ii. 161, 211, 223, 227,
505, 506; iii. 152-171, 193, 200,

204, 347, 364..
John of Biclaro, i. clxxviii ; ii. 61.
John, Patriarch, ii. 342.
John, Priest, i. xcii.
Jouarre (Jouarra), i. 297 ; iii. 183.
Jovianus, ii. 64.
Judan-byrig, i. 130.
Judenburg, i. 72.
Judeu,i. 128-130; iii. 356.
Judicail, i. 297.
Judith, wife of Tostig, i. 86.
Julian, ii. 264.

Julian the Apostate, i. 254, 255, 286.
Julian, Archbishop of Toledo, ii. i6,

346.
Jurmanus, see Germinus.
Justina, nun, ii. 477 ; iii. 232.
Justinian II., Emperor, i. xiii, clxxxi,

clxxxii ; ii. 325-341, 349, 35 1, 354 ;

111; 367. .
Justiniapolis, ii. 327.
Justus, Bishop, ii. il.
Jutes, i. 37 ; ii. 134.

Kaelcacaestir, iii. 186.
Kairowan, ii. 339.
Kalas, iii. 226.
Kanegnub, iii. 192.
Kanegut, iii. 192.

Katharine, Queen, ii. 39.

Keats, John, iii. 273.

Kellett, iii. 59.

Kemble (Cemele), i. cxliii.

Kenedritha (Coenlhrytha), Queen, i.
clxxii.

Kenfrith, see Cenfrith.

Kcnnemaren, i. 74.

Kenred, see Coenred.

Kensped, iii. 3.

Kenswilh, iii. 3.

Kent, i. xxviii, civ, ex, cxxxvii-cxxxix,
Z7, 38, 16, 150,228, 239-254, 306,
308, 315, 320, 327 ; n. 32, 43, 44,
47, 48, 51, 112, 125-130, 137, 138,
170, 216, 356-373, 424, 428, 429,
455, 457; hi. 1^5, 225, 227, 357,

Kent, Kings of, i. clxxxii-clxxxiv.
Kent, East, Archbishops of, i. clxxxiv,

clxxxv.
Kent, West, Bishops of, i. clxxxiv,

clxxxv.
Kenten, Kentwine, see Centwin.
Kenulf (Kenulph), Abbot, i. clxxiv ;

ii. 416.
Kenwalch, see Coinwalch.
Kenwald, see Coinwalch.
Ketel, William, i. cxii.
Kettering, i. 154.
Key, miracle, ii. 392, 393.
Khazars, ii. 62, 340.
Kilbagie, iii. 196.
Kilbees, iii. 196.
Kilbirnie, i. 36.
Kilbucho, iii. 196.
Kildale, iii. 59.
Kilian, St., ii. 348.
Kill-arsagh, iii. 352.
Killfursa, i. 102 ; iii. 352, 353.
Kinbert, see Cyneberht.
Kineburga, Saint and Queen, see Cyne-

burga.
Kineburga, St., of Gloucester, ii. 386,

387.
Kings and the religious life, i. Iviii.
Kingsley, Staffs, iii. 221.
Kinship, spiritual, i. 40 ; iii. 349.
Kirby Moorside, i. 154, 202.
Kirkby Ireleth, iii. 58.
Kirkby Stephen, i. 133.
Kirkcudbright, iii. 36.
Kirkdale, near Lastingham, i. 134,

154, 202 ; iii. 308.
Kirkedale (St. Bees), iii. 196.
Kirklade, ii. 161.
Kirkoswald, i. 70.
Kirton, i. 136.
Kiss at mass, iii. 260.

424

INDEX

Kitchen in monasteries, i. 25.
Kneeling at prayers forbidden, ii.

338.
Krusch, Bruno, i. clxxviii.
Kuniburga, iii. 192.
Kyneburga, see Cyneburga.
Kynegitha, i. cxxxvii.
Kynehardus, see Cynehard.

Lactantius, iii. 37.

L32stingaeu monastery, i. cv, 134,

153,154, 206, 207, 212, 349, 350,

357, 359, 367, see also Lastingham.
Lagny, i. 116, 118; iii. 354, 355.
Lancashire, i. 50, 132; iii. 303.
Lancaster, i. 133.
Landmylien, iii. 211.
Landscape, Basil's appreciation of, i.

256.
Lanercost, i. 338.
Lanfranc, Archbishop, i. cxii, cxxvi,

87 ; ii, 244, 498 ; iii. 229.
Langres, ii. 321 ; iii. 322.
Langton in Merse, iii. 36.
Langton, Stephen, Archbishop of

Canterbury, i. 45.
Lantocal, i. cli ; ii. 443.
Laodicsea, i. 19.
Laon, iii. 352.
Lastingham, i. Ixxxiv, 134, 154; iii.

218, 357 ; see also Lsestingaeu.
Latchford, i. 53.
Lateran Council, ii. 76.
Latin, knowledge and study, i. xxxiii,

183 ; ii. 479, 480 ; iii. 234, 235,

367, 369, 370.
Latineacum, see Lagny.
Laud, William, Archbishop of Canter-
bury, ii. 251.
Lauherne, iii. 318-
Lavisse, M., i, clxxviii.
Law, Roman, iii. 369.
Lawrence, Archbishop of Canterbury,

i. clxxi, 242.
Lawrence, F., i. clxxix.
Lawrence, St., i. 6^.
Laybach, i. 72.
Lazica, ii. 339.
Leader, river, iii. 4, 5.
Leander, iii. 176.
"Leavings," ii. no.
Lebanon, ii. 326.
Lebeau's Byzantine Hisiory, i.

clxxvii.
Leclerc, V Espagne Chritienne^ i.

clxxviii.
Le Crotoy, iii. 354.
Lee, iii. 227.
Lee, Commissioner, iii. 92.

Lee St. John, iii. 171.

Leeds, i. 128 ; iii. 351.

Leger, St., iii. 363.

Leicester, i. clxxv ; ii. 231, 3S1.

Leinster, ii. 152.

Lekingfield, iii. 157.

Leland, John, i. clxxvii.

Lent, i. 29 ; ii. 405.

Leo II., St., Pope, i. clxxxi ; ii. 13,

72, 344-346.
Leo III., Pope, ii. 438.
Leo IV., Pope, ii. 438.
Leo IX., Pope, i. cxxii.
Leo III., the Isaurian, Emperor, i.

clxxxii ; ii. 343, 356, 439.
Leobgytha (Leoba, Leobgyth, Tryth-

gifu), St., i. cxiv ; iii. 185, 190,

230, 237.
Leodulco, ii. 268.
Leodwald, ii. 511.
Leofric, Bishop, i. cii.
Leofric, Earl, iii. 221.
Leofwin, iii. 68.
Leominster, iii. 225.
Leontius, Bishop, ii. 81.
Leontius, Bishop of Frejus, i. 169,

170.
Leontius i.. Emperor, i. clxxxi; ii.

339> 340.
L6rins (Lerinum), i. xxxii, 168-170,

174, 182, 251 ; iii. 176.
Lero, i. 169.

Lethaby, Professor, i. clxxvii.
Lethom (Cleveland), iii. 59.
Lethom, see Lytham.
Leutherius, see Chlothaire.
Levicus, Count of Leicestre, i. clxxv.
Libanius, i. 254, 255, 263.
Libellus Scotorum, i. cxvii.
Liber Pontijicalis , i. clxxviii.
Libraries, i. xxxiii, Ixxxiv, cxxxi ; ii.

253, 254 ; iii. 337, 360.
Lichfield (Licitfelda), i. 323, 353, 356,

.357> 364, 365 ; ii- 380. 381 ; iii. 219.
Licinian, i. 187.
Licitfelda, see Lichfield.
Liege, iii. 103.
Liguria, i. 35.
Limoges, ii. 262-269.
Lina, river, ii. 513.
Lincoln, i. clxxv, 44 ; ii. 411.
Lincolnshire, i. 35, 62, 320 ; ii. 35,

41, 42, 49, SO. 401, 411, 502 ; iii.

,213.
Lindis, river, i. 20.
Lindisfaras, i. 349.
Lindisfarne, i. xxvii, Ixvi, Ixxxiv,

Ixxxvii, xcii, c, cvii, cxvi, 20-31,

58, 60, 76, 94, 98, 99, 156, 161,

INDEX

425

196, 198, 203, 207, 220, 221, 249,

382; ii. 54, 103, 105, 160, 181,
228, 290, 505, 512, 513; iii. 3, 8,
13, 14, 18, 20, 23, 30, 31, 42-45,
47, 51, 57, 59, 94, 120, 121, 131,
137, 139, 190, 192, 198, 276, 316,
.340, 347, 351, 384.

Lindisfarne, Bishops of, i. clxxxv,
clxxxvi.

Lindisfarne Gospels, iii. 61, 102, 108-
118, 122, 317, 329, 385.

Lindissi, i. 35, 63 ; ii. 50, 86, 401,
402, 405 ; see also Lindsey.

Lindsey, i. cv ; iii. 163, 167 ; see also
Lindissi.

Lindsey, Bishops of, i. clxxxvi.

Linen stolen, i. 89, 90.

Lingones, iii. 322.

Linlithgow, ii. 506 ; iii. 36.

Liodguald, ii. 511.

"Lion of the English," i. 60.

Lisbon, i. 64.

Lismore, i. 321.

Litany, Greater, i. loi.

Littleborne, i. cxxxvii.

Littleton, ii. 496.

Liudhard, ii. 170.

Liudprand, King of the Lombards, ii.

321.
Liverpool, iii. 351.
Llairvello, iii. 390.
Llanerch Panna, i. 52.
Llothaire, see Hlothaire.
Loidis (Leeds), iii. 351.
Loidis (Lothian), i. 128.
Lokington, iii. 165.
Lombards, i. xviii, xix, 232, 297,

305; ii. 3 ; iii. 313.
London, i. cxxvii, cxlvii, 40, 150,

151, 307, 308, 324; ii. 45, 50, 216,

343, 391, 420 ; iii. 226, 356.
London, Bishops of, i. clxxxiv, clxxxv.
Longinianus, ii. 141.
Lord's Day, see Sunday.
Lord's Supper, i. 281.
Lorraine, i. 169.
Lorsch, ii. 261.
Lorton, iii. 59.
Lothaire, Duke, i. 301.
Lothaire, Lotharius, see also Chlo-

thaire, Hlothaire.
Lothians, i. 8 ; ii. 516.
Lough Corrib, i. 102 ; iii. 354.
Lough Mask, iii. 352.
Loughderg, i. 321.
Louis, St., ii. 273, 274.
Lourdes, ii, 435.
Love-feasts forbidden, ii. 337.
Lucian, Apostle of Beauvais, ii. 264.

Luckcr, iii. 388.

Luel, see Carlisle.

Lugair, St., i. 19.

Lugubalia, see Carlisle.

Lulling, pra:fect, i. clxvi.

Lullus, Archbishop of Mainz, i,

Ixxxvii, xci, xcvii, xcviii, cxiii ;

ii. 447 ; iii. 365, 388.
Lupus, Abl)ot of Ferrara, i. xcviii.
Lusitania, ii. 4.
Lute playing, iii. 371.
Luxury in monasteries, iii. 184, 185.
Luxury of clergy, i. xlix.
Lyccidfelth, i. 356.
Lydesige, i. cxlviii.
Lying, monastic, i. 95 ; see also

Forgeries.
Lyminge, i. cxxxix, clxix, 142, 149,

374 ; ii. 358 ; iii. 185, 229.
Lyons, i. clxxii, 163, 165--167 ; ii. 8,

361.
Lytham (Lethom), iii. 58, 94.

Maban, Abbot of Gloucester, iii. 368.
Macarius, Patriarch of Antioch, ii.

68, 79, 81.
Maceriae (Mazeroeles), in Ponthieu,

i. 116.
MacRimedo, Finan, see Finan, St.
Macrina, i. 255 ; iii. 183.
Madelgisilus, iii. 352.
Madoc, St., iii. 187.
Madrid, i. Ixxiii.

Maedhog, Bishop of Ferns, iii. 187.
Maelduib, Maelduin, see Maildulf.
Maelgwyn, i. 16.
Mageo, see Mayo.
Magesaetes, i. 328 ; iii. 358.
Magesetania, iii. 361.
Magheo, see Mayo.
Magic, i. Ixviii, Ixxiii, Ixxiv, 215; ii.

99, 172, I73-...
Magna Groecia, iii. 337.
Magnin, U^glise Wisigothique, i.

clxxviii.
Magyars, ii. 62, 63.
Maiden Way, i. 133.
Maildulf (Meldum, Meldun, Maelduib,

Maelduin), Abbot, ii. 453-455,

457, 461.
Mailros, see Melrose.
Main, i. 298.
Mainz, i. 71.
Makerfield, i. 53.
Malata, see Sheppey.
Malcolm of Scotland, ii. 240.
Maldubesburg, Maldubia, see Mal-

mesbury.
Malmedy, i. 297.

426

INDEX

Malmesbury, i. cxi, cxxviii, cxli-

cxliii ; ii. 119, 125, 394, 442, 444,

45 1 » 453, 454, 457, 460-462, 465,

471, 472, 49I5 493-500; iii- 348,

356, 370, 373-
Malmes!)ury Abbey Annals^ i. cxv.
Manau, i. 128, 129.
Man-bot, i, 248.
Manitius, Gesch. der Lat. Lit. des

Alittelaliers, i. clxxv.
Mannius, Abbot, ii. 396.
Mansuetus, Archbishop of Milan, ii.

76.
Manuscript, iii. 328-330.
Mardaites, ii. 326, 327.
Margaret, daughter of Henry viii.,

iii. 89.
Margaret, St., ii. 240; iii. 88.
Marinus, Pope, ii. 439.
Maronites, ii. 82.
Marriage, ii. 29, 30, 177, 244, 245,

247, 248 ; iii. 254, 257-260.
Marriage of baptized and unbaptized,

ii. 357 ; iii. 252.
Marriage of clergy, i. 26 ; ii. 331-

333 ; iii. 244.
Marriage of sponsors, ii. 334.
Marriage, spiritual, iii. 183.
Marriage within prohibited degrees,

i. 151.
Marseilles, i. 1 70, 173, 305.
Marske, iii. 59, 61.
Martial, St., ii. 263.
Martin, St., ii. 265 ; iii. 29, 340.
Martin i.. Pope, i. xvi, xxxii, 231,

237; ii. 70, 75, 76, 274.
Martyrs and canonisation, iii. 340.
Martyrs, histories, iii. 141.
Martyrs, spurious lives, ii. 336.
Mary, Queen, i. 351.
Maserfield (Maserfelth), i. 50-54, 58,

74, 76 ; iii. 349.
Masham, Sir William de, iii. 81.
Mass, i. Ixv, Ixvi ; iii. 249, 251-253,

260.
Mass celebrated in a vision, i. Ixviii.
Mauchline, iii. 36.
Maud, wife of King David, iii.

Maurice, ii. 65.

Maurice, Emperor, i. Ivii.

Maurice, St., ii. 273.

Maurus, Archbishop of Ravenna, i.

238, 239.
Maurus, moneyer, ii. 268.
Maurus, monk, iii. 228.
Maximinian, ii. 264.
Maxton, iii. 36.
Maybole, iii. 36.

Mayo (Mageo, Magheo), i. Ixxxvi,

196-198.
Mayoc, iii. 354.
Mayor of the Palace, functions, i.

301.
Mazeroeles, see Maceriae.
Mazeroles, i. 157.
Meath, ii. 104, no, 152.
Meats offered to priests, ii. 338.
Meaux, i. 306 ; ii. 214, 230.
Medcaut, i. 20 ; iii. 351.
Medeshamstede, see Peterborough.
Medisevalism, ii. 149.
Medicine, i. 284; ii. 178, 179.
Mediterranei Angli, i. 100.
Meican, see Haethfield.
Meldanus (Meldan), Bishop, i. 102,

109, 116.
Meldulfesbirg, see Malmesbury.
Meldum, Meldun, see Maildulf.
Meldunesburg, see Malmesbury.
Melescroft, iii. 164.
Meletius, Bishop, i. 351.
Melfont, ii. 404.
Mellitus, Bishop of London, i. 138 ;

ii. II, 34.
Mellor (Meier), iii. 58.
Melrose, i. cvii, 184, 221, 222 ; ii.

54, 279, 405 ; iii. z-^, 12, 18, 36,

46, 122, 124, 129-131.
Menevia, i. 20.

Menial duties of nuns, iii. 177,
Menmuir, iii. 351.
Meonsborow, i. 336.
Meonwari, i. 336.
Merchdorf, monk, iii. 135.
Mercia, i. xxviii, xxx, cv, 30, 40, 43,

47,48, 74, 75, 100, 121-132, 134,

216-219, 223, 224, 248, 249, 306,

3I9> 320, 326-336, 349-365 ; ii.

34, 35, 41, 42, 47-50, loi, 171,

184, 198-200, 216, 217, 227, 233,

373-416; iii. 367.
Mercia, Bishops of, i. clxxxv, clxxxvi ;

iii.. 356.
Mercia, Kings of, i. clxxxii-clxxxiv.
Merewald (Merwald), King, i. 331,

335 ; iii. 210, 225, 362.
Merewin, iii. 225.
Merida, ii. 4.
Merin lodeo, i. 130.
Merlinch, i. cliv.
Merton, iii, 59.
Merwald, see Merewald.
Mesopotamia, i. 255.
Metgoit, i. 20.
Methley, i. 70, 316.
Metropolitans, i. cxxxix ; ii. 6, 7j 10,

11,24.

INDEX

427

Metropolitans, French, ii. 8, 9.
Metropolitans, Spanish, ii. 4.
Metropolitans with papal authority,

ii. 10, II, 362.
Metropolitans, see also Canterbury,

York.
Metz, ii. 261, 362.
Mexico, i. Ixxiii.
Michael, St., ii. 214, 230.
Michelstadt, ii. 191, 262.
Micklethwaite, Mr., i. clxxvii.
Middelangli, i. lOO.
Middlesbrough, iii. 388.
Middleton, near Manchester, iii. 54,

59-
Middleton, Yorks, iii. 155.
Middlezoy (Soweie, Sowy), i. cliv,

civ.
Migne, Patrologia, i. clxxv.
Milan, i. 238, 377 ; ii. 76.
Milbourne, iii. 55.
Milburga (Milburgh), St., ii. 379;

iii. 210, 211, 225, 389.
Mildred, St., Abbess of Minster, i.

cxiii, cxxxvii, cxxxix, 249 ; iii. 225-

229, 346, 390, 391.
Milgith, iii. 225.
Miller, Dr., i. clxxv.
Milred, Bishop of Worcester, i. clxii.
Milton, John, i. xxxv ; iii. 272.
Minster in Thanet, iii. 225-230, 233,

390, 391. .,.

Minuscules, iii. 307.

Miracle play at Beverley, iii. 169.

Miracles, i. Ixxviii, Ixxxiv, Ixxxv, cvii,
cix, 27, 34, 37, 38, 45, 46, 55-57,
61, 63, 68-70, 73, 76-78, 87-90,
113, 126, 172, 207, 247, 248, 364;
ii. 98-100, 116, 117, 121, 127, 128,
179, 195, 203, 214, 222, 234, 238-
242, 247, 369, 370, 392, 394-398,
402, 406, 420, 421, 423, 434, 445,
468, 469, 471, 492, 493, 495, 496,
498-500, 506, 516, 517 ; iii. 11-13,
16-18, 21-23, 28, 34-37, 39, 44,
48, 49, 56-58, 62, 65-67, 72, 79,
88, 89, 107, 108, 119-121, 133,
147, 153-158, 161, 163, 166-171,
186, 196-198, 204-206, 208, 210,
213, 2x6, 217, 221-232, 350, 352,

355, 370, 385-387, 392.
Mirafield, i. cxxxvi.
Missionary labours of English priests,

1. xxxviii, xxxix.
Missionary methods, i. 16, 17 ; ii.

450-
Modestus, i. 262.
Moesia, ii. 62, 327.
Mohammedans, iii. 313, 315.

Moinan, iii. 354.

Mol, see Mul.

Molescroft, iii. 164.

Molesworth, J. E. N., i. 257 ; ii. 251.

Monachism, Rule of St. Basil, i. 267-
286.

Monasteries, i. xxii-xxiv.

Monasteries and episcopal jurisdic-
tion, ii. 27.

Monasteries, double, iii. 1S2-185,
214, 254.

Monasteries, first, in Western Europe,

i. 173-
Monasteries, Irish, i. xxviii.
Monasteries, Kentish, i. cxxxix.
Monasteries, northern, restoration, ii.

279. .
Monasti c s robbed, ii. 378.
Monastic life, age for entering, ii.

334- .
Monastic privileges, see also

Forgeries, Privileges.
Monasticism, i. xl-xliii, xlix-lxiv,

258, 259, 265-267.
Monk, first to be Pope, ii. 64.
Monks, i. xxiv, xxv ; iii. 253, 254 ;

see also Rule.
Monks, clothing of, i. 285, 286.
Monks not to forsake their monastery,

ii. 27.
Monkwearmouth, see Wearmouth.
Monothelite controversy, i. xvi ; ii.

65, 69, 70, 78, 81, 82, 326, 342,

344, 354.
Mons, i. 120.

Mont St. Michel, i. 20, 21 ; ii. 435.
Montacute, Anthony, Lord, iii. 98.
Montalembert, Monks of the JVesl,

i. clxxiii.
Monte Casino, i. 160, 253; ii. 352;

iii. 349.
Montgomery, i. 52.
Moon, new, ii. 336.
Moore, John, Bishop of Ely, i. c.
Mopsuestia, ii. 326.
Morals, English, ii. 162.
Morals at Coldingham, iii. 206, 207.
M orison. Si. Basil, i. clxxvi.
Morocco, ii. 339.
Moulsey, i. cxlvii ; ii. 46.
Mount Cignes (Mont des Cignes), i.

116 ; iii. 354. ^ _
Mouse in liquid, iii. 243.
Mowbray, Robert de, i. 86, Sj.
Muawiah, i. 230 ; ii. 60.
Much Wenlock, iii. 21 1.
Mudpieraleges, iii. 35.
Muhammedanism, i. 229-236.
Muigeo, i. 197.

428

INDEX

Muir n-Giudan, i. 130.

Mul (Mol, Mulus), i. cxxxv ; ii. 132,

137, 138, 357, 428, 429.
Mulluc, St., i. cviii.
Mundham, iii. 390.
Munecaceastre, ii. 278.
Munich, i. Ixxiii.

Munster, i. 71, loi, 102; ii. 151.
Murrisk, i. 197.
Music, i. 317; ii. 48, 398, 456 ; iii.

140.
Muspell, iii. 288.
Myldryde, see Mildred.
Myredah, ii. 222.
Mythology, Teutonic, iii. 281, 282.

Naitan, Naiton, see Nechtan.
Names, Saxon, spelling, i. clxxix :

variable terminations, iii. 135.
Nantechildis, wife of Dagobert, i.

296, 300.
Naples, i. Ixxiii, 234, 253.
"Natural" daughter, iii. 224.
Nechtan (Naitan, Naiton, Nectan),

King of the Picts, ii. 107, 311,

316; iii. 138, 366.
Necromancy, i. Ixviii.
Nectanesmore, ii. 107.
Nectan's ford, battle, ii. 502.
Nectan's Fort, ii. 107.
Needle, St. Wilfrid's, i. 376.
Nene, ii. 410.

Nerienda, Abbess, i. cxxxvii.
Nestorians, ii. 65, 82, 336.
Netheravon, ii. 193.
Neustria, i. 166, 294, 300; ii. 33.
Neustria, Kings of, i. clxxxi.
Neville of Raby, John, Lord, iii. 82.
Neville's Cross battle won by relics,

iii. 79.
New Rome, see Constantinople.
Newbiggin, iii. 351.
Newcastle-on-Tyne, i. 86, 89, 99 ; ii.

278 ; iii. 22, 82, 332.
Newman, J. H., ii. 149.
Nicaea, i. 351.

Nicene Council, i. 188; iii. 241.
Nicomedia, ii. 354.
Nidd, Synod at, ii. 223-226, 506 ;

iii. 151.
Niduarii, iii. 34-38.
" Nifleheimer," iii. 281, 288.
Nigel, Bishop, iii. 216.
Nile, i. 171.

Niridamus (Hindamus), i. 252.
Nithard, i. cxiv.
Niuentum, i. cxli,
N odder (Nodz, Noodr), river, i. cxliv ;

ii. 494.

Noenan, see Eoghenan.

Nones at Lindisfarne, i. 29.

Norfolk, ii. 52.

Norham, ii. 516, 517; iii. 59, 131,

385-
Norman Conquest, effect, iii. 305,

306.

Norsemen, iii. 309.

Northbald, Abbot, ii. 372.

Northbert, Bishop of Elmham, ii.
419.

North-burh, i. 332.

North Burton, iii. 157.

North Elmham, see Elmham.

Northumberland, iii. 266, 303.

Northumbria, i. xxv, xxvii, xxviii,
XXX, xxxvii, cv, cxv, i-ioo, 123,
125-159, 164, 174, 182-196, 199,
204-214, 219-227, 249, 307, 319,
336-349; ii- ii» 35-42, 49» 51,
69, 91, 97, loi, 102, 105-112, 132,
147-156, 171, 181, 184, 199-201,
219-229, 233, 248, 253, 254, 279,
360, 364, 373, 502-517 ; iii. 1-174,
189, 266, 303, 310, 318, 328-330,

337, 356, 358, 360.
Northumbria, Bishops of, i. clxxxv,

clxxxvi.
Northumbria, Kings of, i. clxxxii-

clxxxiv.
North wold. Bishop, iii. 216.
Norway, iii. 314.
Norwich, iii. 390.
Nostell Priory, i. 70.
Nothelm, Archbishop of Canterbury,

i. Ixxxvii, xcvi, civ, cv, clxi.
Nothelm, King, see Nunna.
Nothelm, priest, i. ciii, cxix; ii. 371.
Nothgith, i. cxlviii, cxlix.
Noyon, i. 116 ; ii. 264, 265.
Nulluc, St., i. cviii.
Numerals, allegorical interpretation,

iii. 344.
Nun, first English, iii. 185.
Nuneaton, iii. 184.
Nunna (Nothelm, Nun, Numa), King,

i. cxlviii-cl ; ii. 430, 448.
Nunneries, i. xliii : Celtic, iii. 182 :

discipline, iii. 176.
Nuns, clothing, ii. 485.
Nuns, royal and high-born, i. xxix,

clxxviii ; iii. 175-237.
Nursling, ii. 444.
Nursted, iii. 227, 391.
Nuthurst, i. clvii.
Nutshell, iii. 203.

Oat cakes, iii. 385.
Oaths respected, ii. 59.

INDEX

429

Oberlonon, i. 71.

Obodriti, i. 298.

Occ, ii. 511.

Occam, Nicholas of, I. Ixxr.

Oddo, founder of Tewkesbury Abbey,

ii. 388, 389.
Odin, iii. 367.

Odo, Abbot of Battle, iii. 210.
Odo, Archbishop of Canterbury, ii.

243; iii. 172.
Odo, Cardinal of Ostia, iii. 210.
O'Donnell clan, iii. 133.
Odulf, St., ii. 396.
Oedilburga, see ^thelburga.
OEdilred (Hodilred), i. clxviii.
Offa, ancestor of Mercian Kings, i.

48.
Offa, King of Essex, 1. Iviii, clxxxiii ;

ii. 377, 394, 424, 425, 43^; iii.

209, 367.
Offa, King of Mercia, i. cxlix, clvii,

clxiv, 51, 63 ; ii. 121.
Offa, King (fictitious), i. clxxi ; ii. 34.
Offenham, iii. 21 1.
Oftfor, Bishop of Worcester, i. clvi,

clx, clxxxvi ; ii. 161, 185, 186, 384,

389, 390.
Oiddi, ii. 115.
Oidilwald (^thelwald, Edilwald,

Ethelwold), Bishop of Lindisfarne,

i. clxxxvi; ii. 515; iii. 109, no,

118, 120-122, 129.
Oidilwald, King of Deira, i. clxxxiii,

74, 75, 93, 94, 125-127, i33, i34,
141, 153, 205, 207 ; 111. 351.

Oidilwald, priest, hermit of Fame,
iii. 57, 120, 121.

Oidilwald, see also ^Ethelwald.

Oisen, see Oswin.

Olwfwolthu, i. 347.

Omolincq, Abbot, i. clxiv.

Ondred, ii. 132.

Ongen, son of Offa, i. 48.

Onna, see Anna.

Onswini, see Oswin.

Opide, river, iii. 13.

Ordericus Vitalis, iii. 384.

Orders, iii. 250, 251.

Orders, Celtic, validity of, i. 350-356.

Ordination of bishops, i. 140, 350,

351- .
Ordination by heretics, iii. 241.

Ordinations, iii. 251.

Organs, ii. 497 ; iii. 370, 371.

Origen, i. 163, 258.

Orleans, i. 211.

Orleans, Council of, i. 351.

Ormisby, iii. 59.

Ornamentation, iii. 312-316.

Osa, "Bishop," i. cl.

Osburga, nun, ii. 477 ; iii. 232.

Osfrid, i. cxxxvi.

Osfrith, Prefect, ii. 98, lOO.

Osgitha (Osgith), St., ii. 484, 485 ;

iii.. 373-
Osguid, see Oswy.
Oshelm, i. cxliii.
Oshere, sub-King of the Hwiccii, i.

clviii-clxiv ; ii. 385, 391 ; iii. 203.
Osingadum, see Easington.
Oslawa (Oslava), wife of Eormenred,

i. 244 ; iii. 225.
Osmund, King (fictitious), i. cl.
Osmund, St., Bishop of Salisbury, ii.

498, 499.
Osred (Osrith), King of Northumbria,

1. clxxxiii; ii. 221, 222, 378, 425,

444, 504-508, 510; iii. 131, 154,

157, 161.
Osric, i. cl.
Osric, King of Deira, i. clxxxii, 5-7,

75.
Osric, King of Northumbria and
sub-regulus of the Hwiccas, i.
cxlvii, cxlviii, clxv, clxvi, clxxxiii,
clxxxiv, 186 ; ii. 384-388, 508-510;
iii. 368.

Osrith, see Osred.

Ossa, see Oswy.

Ossory, ii. 152.

Ossu, see Oswy.

Osthryth (Osthryda, Osthrytha),
Queen of Mercia, i. clvi, 62, 70,
227 ; ii. 42, 47, 49, 382, 390.

Ostrogoths, i. 298.

Osu, Osuio, Osuiu, see Oswy.

Osvald's saga, i. 72.

Oswald, brother of Osric, i. clviii ; ii.
385, 386, 388.

Oswald, St., King of Northumbria,
i. cv, clxxxii, 1-75, 80, 93, 100,
125, 127, 131, 141, 153; ii. 37;
iii. 97, 205, 348 : Aidan's influence,
i' 32, 33 : wins battle of Heaven-
field, i. 11-14 ; iii. 303: ascends
throne, i. 16 : birth, i. 9 : Bret-
walda, i. 34, 35, 50 : character, i.
54, 55 : children, i. 74 : dedications,
i. 50, 70-73, 80 ; iii. 351 : depicted
with Cuthberht, i. 60, 61, 67 ; iii.
92 : exile, i. 5, 9, 10 : humility, i,
33, 34 '' killed at Maserfield, i. 50-
54 : miracles, i. 55-57, 65, 68-70,
73; ii. 117, 203, 234, 402 : relics,
i.. 55, 58-70, 73 ; ii- 203, 234 ;
iii. 57, 70, 71, 350: saint and
martyr, i. 54 : sends for Scottish
bishop, i. 16, 17: vision of

430

INDEX

Columba, i. lo: Life of St.
Os7vaid, iii. 346.

Oswald, St., Archbishop of York, ii.
242, 243 ; iii. 172.

Oswald's tree, i. 56.

Oswald's well, i. 53.

Oswaldkirk, i. 70,

Oswestry, i. 50, 51, 54, 70.

Oswid (Oswido, Oswud), i. clx, clxiv.

Oswin, King of Deira, i. clxxxii,
clxxxiii, 7, 75, 79-92, 97, 125, I54,
155, 219, 378; ii. 100: Cross at
Collingham, i. 91, 92: miracles, i.
88, 89 : relics and shrine, i. 83-89.

Oswini (Oswyn), fictitious King of
Kent, i. cxxxv, cxxxvi ; ii. 126.

Oswin's thorpe, iii. 351.

Oswy (Ossa, Ossu, Osu, Osuic),
King of Northumbria, i. cxxiv,
cxxv, clxxxii, 5, 6, 58, 74-^1, 9i>
93, 94, 122, 123, 125-134, 136,
138, 139, 155, 156, 160, 168, 183-
187, 194, 195, 199, 205, 208, 211,
212, 214, 216-219, 221-227, 251,
252, 306, 307, 319, 330, 331, 337,

347, 348, 350, 353, 378 ; ii. 34, 37,
40, 50, 149, 150, 221, 387, 507,
509; iii. 61, 189, 193, 197, 201,
204-206, 265, 346, 350, 364: at
synod of Whitby, i. 186, 187, 194,
195: Bretwalda, i. 132, 133, 183:
children, i. 226, 227 : later days
and character, i. 225, 226 : patron
of Aidan, i. 76 : quarrel with
Alchfrid, i. 221-223 : struggle with
Penda, i. 125-132; iii. 356: visits
Maserfield, i. 76.

Oswyn, see Oswin.

Osyth, St., ii. 44; iii. 391, 392.

Othman, i. 230.

Otho I., i. 72.

Otho II., ii. 143.

Othon, mayor of the palace, i. 301,
302.

Othona, i. 142.

Otton, see Othon.

Ouen (Audoenus), St., Bishop of
Rouen, i. 296, 297 ; ii. 259, 264.

Ouestraefelda, ii, 197.

Ouini, see Wini.

Oundle, i. 330 ; ii. 233, 235, 238.

Ouse, ii. 409.

Overton, iii, 59.

Ower Park, iii. 353.

Owin, see Wini.

Oxford, i. 40, 41 ; ii, 397 ; iii. 227,
364, 389, 391.

Oxford University, first M.A., iii. 152.

Oxfordshire, i. 40, 328; ii. 120.

Pachomius, St., i. 275, 281, 282; iii.

183.
Padda, ii. 115.
Paddlesworth, i. 70.
Padduwel, ii. 516.
Paegnalaech, i. 205.
Paeogthath (Peogthah, Peohthal), i.

clxix, clxx ; ii. 424.
Pagan customs forbidden, ii. 335,

336..
Paganism, i, xxv.
Paganism, East Saxons revert to, i.

138. . ..

Paganism in Christianity, 11. 173.
Paganism in England, i. 132.
Paganism, victory of, at Maserfield, i.

74.
Paintings, ii. 275 ; iii. 365.
Paisley, iii. 390.
Palatiolum, iii. 201.
Palermo, ii. 78.
Palestine, i. xxvii, ex, 169, 177, 255,

304; ii. 156.
Palgrave's English Commonwealth,

i. clxxvii.
Pall, conferred on Berhtwald, ii. 362.
Pall, doubtful if received by Paulinus,

ii. 24, 93.
Pall sent to Augustine, ii. 10, 11.
Panna, Panta, see Penda.
Pante, river, i. 142.
Pantesberie, see Pontesbury.
Pantha, see Penda.
Papacy, i. clxxvii.
Papal documents, i. cxix.
Papal letters, i. cxxiv.
Paris, i, 294, 305, 366 ; ii. 72, 265 ;

iii. 358.
Parochial system, i. xxxi, 33, 141 ;

ii. 29, 177, 178.
Partesbury, see Pontesbury.
Partney, abbey of, ii. 383, 401, 411.
Paternus, iii. 50.
Patriarchates destroyed, ii. 339.
Patriarchs, i. xxi.
Patriarchs deposed by Emperor, ii.

79-81.
Patrick, St., i. 28, 168 ; ii. 311.
Patrington, iii. 155.
Paul, Abbot, i. 180.
Paul, Deacon, i. cxviii.
Paul, Patriarch of Constantinople, ii.

330-
Paul, St., i. 97, 102.
Paulinus, Bishop of York, i. xxvii,

cv, 3, 5, 22, 32, 55, 76, 157, 186,

207, 289, 382 ; ii. 24, 93, 170 ;

iii. 188, 303.
Paulinus, Eastern Bishop, i. 164.

INDEX

431

Pavia, i. 233 ; ii. 58, 140, 349.
Peada, King of Mercia, i. 99, 100,
122, 123, 134, 136, 140, 218, 227,

330, 331-
Peak, The, i. 124.
Peakirk (Peykirk), ii. 416.
Peanfahel, i. Ixxxvi ; ii, 104.
Peasant kings of Britain, i. 16.
Pecganham, i. clxviii.
Pecland, i. 124.
Pecsxtas, i. 124.
Pectarit, King, see Berhther.
Pecthelm (Pehthelm), Bishop of Whit-
herne, i. cxiv ; ii. 377, 444, 515;
iii. 34, 38-40.
Pectwine (Pehtwine), Bishop of Whit-

herne, iii. 34, 40.
Peddle, ii. 516.
Pedivel, ii. 516.
Peers, C, i. clxxvii.
Pega, St., i. 137 ; ii. 414-416.
Pegeland, ii. 416.
Pehthelm, see Pecthelm.
Pehtwine, see Pectwine.
Pelagius, i. 182.
Pembrokeshire, ii. 488.
Penance, ii. 405 ; iii. 251, 261.
Penda (Banna, Panna, Panta,
Pantha), King of Mercia, i. clxxxii,
clxxxiii, 4, 15, 35, 42, 43, 47-52,
55, 58, 62, 74, 75, 77, 93, 94, 99,
100, 115, 120, 122, 124-128, 131-
133, 182, 183, 217, 218, 223, 226,
319-321, 327, 348; ii. 44, 373,
418, 425; iii. 3, 189, 209, 210,
214, 225, 227, 356, 387.
Pengerd, see Pen ward.
Penitential^ Theodore's, i. clxxviii ;

ii. 161-167.
Pennard, see Penward.
Penneltun, i. Ixxxvi ; ii. 104.
Pennine range, i. 15.
Penrith, ii. 108.
Penta, river, i. 142.
Penthecton, ii. 329.
Penwald, ii. 408.
Penward (Pengerd, Pennard), i. cxliii,

cli.
Peogthath, Peohthal, see Pceogthath.
Pepin, mayor of the palace of

Austrasia, i. 294, 301, 302.
Perigueux, i. 295.
Perjury, iii. 242, 363, 385.
Peronne, i. 116-119; ii. 453; iii.

354, 355.
Perrona Scotorum, i. 117.
Pershore, ii. 385, 386.
Pesholme, iii. 59.
Peter, Abbot, iii. 322.

Peter, baptismal name of Caedwalla,

ii. 141.
Peter, Bishop, i. 254.
Peter, Patriarch of Alexandria, ii.

330.
Peter, St., dedication, ii. 472.
Peter's pence, ii. 437, 438.
Peterborough, cxxvii, cxxx, cxxxii--

cxxxiv, clxxiii, clxxiv, 62, 136,

223, 330-334; ii- 33» 187, 343,

410, 411, 416 ; iii. 210, 358, 387.
Pfazel, iii. 201.
Philippa, Queen, iii. 15, 16.
Philippicus Bardanes, Emperor, i.

clxxxii ; ii. 341, 354, 355.
Phocas, i. 231.

Phonology, Aldhelm's views, iii. 377.
Piaton, priest and martyr, ii. 264.
Picardy, iii. 354.
Pickering Hills, i. 154.
Picts, i. 35, 75; ii. 40, 106, no,

112, 506; iii. 173.
Pictures, see Paintings.
Pilgrimage of Grace, iii. 82, 92.
Pilgrimages, i. Ivi-lviii, 58, 90, 116,

117, 332; ii. 384, 434, 435; iii-

.31.5-
Pilkington, James, Bishop of Durham,

i- 351'
Pillows, Cuthberht's, iii. 88.
Piltun, i. cliv.

Piperings (Piperinges), i. cl ; ii. 449.
Placidia, ii. 79.
Plague, i. XXV, Ixxxiv, cxlvi, 56, 205-

207, 224, 250, 252, 307, 358 ; ii.

117, 155, 172, 256, 301, 307, 308,

344, 403, 404, 422 ; iii. 8, 10, 185,

214, 231, 255, 350, 364, 368.
Planasia, i. 169.
Pleghelmestun, i. clxix.
Plegwin, ii. 229.
Plumbland, iii. 59, 60.
Plummer, Rev. C, i. v, clxxv.
Poelt, see Pouelt.
Poetry, Anglo-Saxon, iii. 266.
Pogonatos, see Constantine iv.
Poictiers, ii. 260, 266; iii. 183.
Pole, Reginald, ii. 244.
Polychronius, ii. 81.
Pontefract, i. Ixxvii, Ixxix.
Pontesbury (Pantesberie, Partesbury,

Posentesbyrg, Posentesbyrig), i. 52,

326, 327-
Pontus, i. 174, 257, 259, 260, 262.
Poole, ii. 464 ; iii. 36.
Pope, a foreigner, ii. 201.
Pope and the Quinisext Council, ii.

330, 351.
Pope, first monk to become, ii. 64.

432

INDEX

Pope, position of, ii. 2, 4, 7, 8, 10,

13, 25, 264.
Pope, title, i. 187.
Pope, visit to Constantinople, ii. 341,

353-355-
Popes of Rome, i. clxxxi, clxxxii.
Popes, Greek, ii. 348-353-
Popes, history of, ii. 64-72, 343-356.
Popes, unlearned, i. xvi.
Porchester, i. 39.
Portus, ii. 78.
Posentesbyrg, Posentesbyrig, see

Pontesbury.
Pouelt (Poelt, Pouholt), i. clii-clv ;

ii. 450.
Poverty at Lindisfarne, i. 25.
Prague, i. 71.

Prayer for impenitent, iii. 393.
Prayer for Wilfrid's recovery, ii. 230.
Prayer of monks, i. 272-275 ; see also

Hours.
Prayer, mutual, iii. 235.
Prayer restores life, i. 370.
Prayer to be offered standing, iii. 261.
Prayer under a veil, iii. 260.
Prayer-book of Alfred the Great, iii.

385.
Precedence of English saints, iii. 88.
Preface, i. ix-lxxxii.
Pre- sanctified, Mass of the, ii. 334.
Preston, iii. 227, 391.
Prestoune Kirk, iii. 119.
Prestvi^ick, iii. 36.
Priest's duties, iii. 250, 251.
Priests, resident, increased, i. xxxi.
Primacy of all England, spurious

documents, i. cxxvii, cxxviii.
Prime, i. 278.
Privileges, monastic, i. Ivi, cxxiii-cxxx,

cxxxiii, cxxxvii, cxxxviii, cxl, cliv,

clxii, clxxii ; ii. 178, 470 ; iii. 348 ;

see also Forgeries.
Prohaeresius, i. 254.
Property, private, forbidden to nuns,

iii. 178.
Prophecy, ii. 54, 55, 107-109, 149,

414; iii. 8, 9.
Propontis, ii. 327.
Prostitution by pilgrims, ii. 435.
Prov. Auxitana, ii. 9.
Provence, i. 169, 300.
Prufening, i. 64.
Prufling, i. 64.
Psalter learned by Wilfrid, i. 162,

163.
Psalter, Oswin's, i. 90.
Pubba, see Pybba.
Puch, iii. 155-157.
Pucklechurch, ii. 499.

Pudsey, Bishop, i. Ixvi ; iii. 16, 88,

341-
Purgatory, i. Ixiii, Ixv ; ii. 129 ; iii.

339.
Putstone, ii. 399.
Putta, Bishop of Rochester, i. clxv,

clxvi, clxxxiv, 217, 317 ; ii. 22,

47-49. 398, 399-
Pybba (Pubba), i. 48 ; ii. 380.
Pyrenees, i. 295.
Pyx, Cuthberht's, iii. 89.

Quantock Wood, i. cli.

Qu^ntovic, see Etaples.

Quarrelling among nuns, iii. 178, 179.

Quartodecimans, i. 209, 355.

Queensferry, ii. 103.

Quenburga, see Cuenburga.

Quentavic, see Etaples.

Queongyth, iii. 236.

Quinisext Council, ii. 327-338, 349,

351 ; iii. 367.
Quintin, ii. 264.

Quintus Lucius Sabinianus, i. 129.
Quiricus, Archbishop of Toledo, ii. 4.
Quoenguyda, i. clxxiii.

Raculf, see Reculver.
Radegunda, St., iii. 183, 362.
Radulf (Rodulf), Duke of Thuringia,

i. 299, 301.
Raedfrid, i. 306.
Raegremaeld, see Riemmelth.
Raggewalh, i. 332.
Ragnetrude, wife of Dagobert, i. 296.
Raimund, iii. 211.
Raine, James, i. clxxvi.
Ramshofen, i. 64.
Ransom, iii. 167, 243.
Ranulf, Archbishop of Canterbury, iii.

76.
Rape, iii. 261.

Ratherius, Bishop of Verona, iii. 264.
Rathmat, i. 102.
Rathmelsige, ii. 404.
Ratisbon, i. 71.
Ravenglas, i. 133 ; iii. 316.
Ravenna, ii. 76, 78, 348 ; iii. 308,

313-
Ravenna, Archbishop declines to go

to Rome, i. 238, 239.
Ravenna, Exarchate of, i. xvii.
Reading by nuns, iii. 178.
Rebaise, i. 297.
Rebaptism, ii. 165, 166.
Recceswintha, King of the Visigoths,

i. clxxxi.
Reconciliation, iii. 246, 247.
Reconsecration, i. 355 ; iii. 359.

INDEX

433

Reculver (RaculO, i. cxxxix, clxvii,
198, 317-319; ii- 189, 190, 359.

Redbridge, ii, 136.

Redeford, ii. 136.

Redel, Bishop, iii. 216.

Redmersell, iii. 59.

Redwald, King of East Anglia, ii.
418.

Reedford, ii. 136.

Reeves, Dr., i. clxxvi.

Refectory in monasteries, i. 25.

Reggio, i. 234 ; ii. 79.

Reginald of Durham, Libelhis, i.
cxv, cxvi : Works, iii. 346.

Reinfred, ii. 278.

Relics, i. Ixix-lxxiii, Ixxix, 34, 44-
46, 57-68, 73, 83-88, 90, 91, 94,
95, 99, 116, 117, 137, 154, 165,
198, 371. 380; ii. 89,92, loi, 120,
203, 213, 238, 241-245, 255, 263,
273, 274, 396, 397, 416, 421, 470,
498, 499» 516, 517; iii. 9, 57, 69-
71, 79, 86, 87, 98, 99, 108, 120,
121, 133, 140, 148, 149, 162, 163,
172, 207, 209, 210, 227-229, 250,

339, 340, 352, 355, 390.
Reliquaries, ii. 263, 271, 272.
Remigius of Auxerre, i. Ixxxviii.
Remiremont, i. 297 ; iii. 183.
Rendelsham, Rendlaesham, i. 152 ;

ii. 418.
Renired, Bishop, i. cxlix.
Repton, i. 135, 356 ; ii. 408, 413,

414, 418; iii. 184, 203, 212, 220,

221, 368, 386.
Rheims, ii. 8.
Rhine, i. 302.
Rhodes, i. 230, 232.
Rhone valley, i. xvii.
Rhun, i. 75.

Rhythm, Aldhelm's views, iii. 380.
Ribble, i. 378.
Ricbod, Archbishop of Treves, i.

xcvii.
Richard, Abbot of Ely, iii. 216, 220,

223.
Richard, Abbot of St. Albans, iii. 'jS.
Richard, Bishop, iii. 392.
Richard, Prior, History of the Church

of Hexham, i. cxv.
Richard i., i. cxxxiv.
Richard ii., iii, 88.
Richmond Archdeaconry, i. 379,

.380.
Richmondshire, i. 3 ; iii. 59-
Ricinghaam (Ricingahaam), i. clxviii,

clxxii.
Riddles, iii. 377, 378.
Ridinges, iii. 155.

VOL. III. — 28

Riemmelth (Raegremaeld), wife of

Oswy, i. 75, 226.
Rimid, i. 98.
Ring, episcopal, ofCuthberht, iii. 98,

.99-
Ripon, i. ex, 60, 184, 221, 307, 367,

370-381 ; ii. 39, 54, 158, 182, 183,

2CX), 202, 206, 221, 223, 227, 230,

232, 235, 236, 242, 247, 256-258 ;
iii. 6, 18, 64, 120, 357, 364.

Rippel, see Ribble.
Rippell, i. clviii, clix.
Rochdale, i. 357 ; ii. 251 ; iii. 359.
Rochester, i. cxxxiii, cxxxvii, 76, 142,
148, 249, 260, 316, 317, 331 ; ii. I,

47, 51. 364,. 398; iii. 361.

Rochester, Bishops of, i. clxxxiv,
clxxxv.

Rodalgus, iii. 352.

Roderic, King of the Visigoths, i.
clxxxii.

Rodulf, see Radulf.

Roeulx, i. 120.

Rois faineants, i. 246.

Roman influence on Northumbrian
Church, i. 157.!

Roman provincial synod, ii. 68-79,
82.

Roman rites and Celtic rites, differ-
ences, i. 55.

Roman supremacy disputed, i. 264.

Roman use, iii. 8, 18.

Romanus, see Ronan.

Rome, i. xvi-xviii, xl, liv, Ivi, Iviii,
Ixxxiv, cxxviii, 147, 157, 160, 162,
164, 165, 168, 225, 233, 234, 238,
287, 304; ii. 55, 59, 65, 89, 139-
141, 185, 201, 202, 213, 231, 232,
253, 254, 274, 275, 300, 301, 317,
349, 355, 356, 384, 392, 394, 416,
425, 448, 468, 470, 497, 501, 515 ;
iii. 140, 167, 209, 227, 309, 315,
321, 322, 337, 358, 365 : English
school at, ii. 436-438.

Romney Marsh, ii. 113.

Romscot, ii. 437, 438.

Romuald, Duke of Beneventum, i.

233, 235.

Ronan (Romanus), i. 157, 158, 187.

Roric, Bishop of Limoges, ii. 269.

Rosnat, see Whitherne.

Rothbury, iii. 316, 319.

Rouen, i. 296 ; ii. 8.

Rowley water, i. 14.

Royth, i. 75, 226.

Rufinianus, i. 237.

Rule of St. Basil, i. 267-286.

Rule of St. Caesarius, iii. 176-182,

Rule of Lindisfarne, i. 25.

434

INDEX

Rum, i. 75, 226.

Runes, iii. 269-271, 307, 310, 31 1,

318-320.
Ruringaham, iii. 3.
Rushworth, see Ruthwell.
Russia, i. 299.
Ruthwell, i. 133, 340; iii. 37, 146,

269, 304, 306, 308, 309, 316-320.
Rutlandshire, iii. 210.
Ryal, iii. 210.

Saale, i. 298.

Sabercht, King of Essex, i. clxxxii,

clxxxiii, 138, 241.
Sacrifice, ii. 333.
Sacrilege, iii. 239, 240.
Saelred, see Selred.
Saethryth (Ssethryd), Abbess of Brie,

i. 121 ; iii. 225.
Sseward, King of Essex, i. clxxxii,

138, 224.
Ssexred, King of Essex, i. clxxxii,

138.
St. Abb's Head, iii. 205.
St. Alban's, i. 87, 88 ; ii. 298.
St. Alban's Head, ii. 464.
St. Aldhelm's Head, ii. 464.
St. Algise, iii. 352.
St. Andrews, iii. 141.
St. Bees in Copeland, iii. 196.
St. Bonnet d'Avalouze, ii. 272.
St. Boswell's, iii. 5.
St. Denis, i. 297, 303.
St. Gallen, i. 100 ; iii. 49.
St. Honorat, St. Honore, i. 169, 170.
St. John's Lee, iii. 154.
St. Keyne, iii. 197.
St. Marguerite, Provence, i. 169.
St. Maurice d'Agaune, ii. 270, 273,

275-
St. Michael's Mount, i. 21.
St. Oswald's, i. 12, 14, 70.
Saintes, i. 295.
Saints, canonisation of, i. Ixxvi ; iii.

339, 340.
Saints, English, not recognised, iii.

340-
Saints, hereditary, i. Ixxvii.

Saints, Lives of, as authorities, iii. 346.

Saints' bodies uncorrupted, see

Corpses.
Saints' days, observance at Lindis-

farne, i. 27.
Salic laws, i. 299.
Salkeld, iii. 59, 60.
Salton, iii. 171.
Saltworks, i. clvii.
Salvin, i. 170.3
Salwerpe, river, i. clvi, clvii.

Salzburg, i. 71.

Sambuce, ii. 307, 507.

Samer, ii. 139.

Samo, ruler of the Tscheques, i. 298,

299.
Sanctuary, i. 377 ; ii. 336 ; iii. 62,

164, 166, 167.
Sanday Island, iii. 133.
Sandoe, ii. 307.
Sandwich, i. 215, 247.
Sandwich, Juliana de, iii. 186.
Sapwic, i. cliv.
Saracens, i. 229-231, 287 ; ii. 60, 61,

79, 326, 339-341.
Sardinia, i. 234.
Saturnus, ii. 268.
Sauris, i. 64.
Savenieres, ii. 260.

Saxon churches, see Churches, Saxon.
Saxonia, i. 113, 116.
*' Saxons," applied to Northumbrians,

ii. 319; iii. 366.
Saxony, ii. 85.

Saxulf, Abbot, see Saxwulf, Bishop.
Saxulph, son of Saxulf the Count, i.

clxxv.
Saxwulf (Saxulf), Bishop of Lichfield,

i. clviii, clxxiv, clxxxvi, 330-333 ;

». 33, 35, 48-50, 184, 187, 381,

385, 398 ; iii. 358.
Scaelfremere, i. 332.
Scarrington, iii. 171.
Scent of saints' bodies, iii. 69, 210.
Scethis, i. 171.

Schism, i. xx, xxix, xxxii ; ii. 349.
Scholastica, nun, ii. 477 ; iii. 232.
School, Canterbury, see Canterbury.
School, English, at Rome, see Rome.
School founded by Aidan, i. 30.
Schoolmasters, i. Ixxxv.
Schools in Ireland, see Ireland.
Schools in nunneries forbidden, iii.

Scorburgh, iii. 157.

Scotland, i. xxvii, 5, 22, 36, 89, 112,
136, 204; ii. 57, 149, 310, 405,
506; iii. 15, 37, 63, 173, 205.

Scotland, Abbot, iii. 228.

Scots language used by Aidan, i. 32.

Scott, Sir Walter, i. 338.

Scottarit, see Shottery.

Scottia (Scotland), i. 136.

Scriptorium at Scyllacium, iii. 337.

Scripture to be obeyed, i. 279.

Scyllacium, iii. 331, 337.^

Sea-fret, ii. 241.

Seal of Durham Monastery, i. 60, 61.

Seal of Tynemouth Abbey, i. 90.

Sebastopolis, ii. 327.

INDEX

435

Sebbi (Sebbe), King of Essex, i. Iviii,
cvii, cxxxv, clxviii, clxxiii, clxxxiii,
152, 223 ; ii. 125, 126, 420-424.

Seckington (Secceswald), iii. 386.

Sedulius, ii. 146.

Sees, Anglo-Saxon, i. clxxxiv-
clxxxvi.

Segbrok^ Richard de, i. 67 ; iii. 86.

Seghine (Segeni), Abbot of Hii, i.

17, 33, 321.
Segrave, John de, iii. 186.
Selaeseu, see Selsey.
Self-abuse, iii. 261.
Seligenstadt, ii. 195.
Selred (Saelred), King of Essex, i.

clxxxiii, clxxxiv ; ii. 426.
Selsey (Selaeseu, Selsea, Seolesia), i.

civ, cxlvii-cxlix, 56; ii. 117, I18,

448, 454.

Sempad, ii. 327.

Sens, i. 306 ; ii. 8.

Seolesia, see Selsey.

Septimania, i. 295 ; ii. 340.

Serapion, i. 172.

Serbandus (Servandus), iii. 336.

Serenus, i. 172.

Sergius i., St., Pope, i.lxxxiv, cxxxvii-
cxxxix, clxxxi ; ii. 139, 144, 145,
196, 198, 205, 209, 319, 339, 345,

349-351, 355, 362, 469, 470; iii-

148, 367.
Servandus, see Serbandus.
Sesoald, i. 233.
Sevekesham, see Sheovesham.
Seven, number, iii. 376.
Severin, Abbot of Agaune, ii. 264.
Severn, river, iii. 351.
Seville, i. xvii, xxxii ; ii. 4, 13.
Seville, Bishops of, precedence, ii.

4.
Sewara, wife of Anna, i. 121, 138.
Seward, see Sseward.
Sewenna, iii. 213.
Sewera, iii. 213.
Sexbald, i. 138, 152.
Sexburga, Queen of Wessex, i.

clxxxiii ; ii. 31, 118; iii. 219.
Sexburga, Queen of Kent and Saint,

i. 121, 244, 246 ; ii. 160; iii. 215,

219, 220, 222, 223, 347, 390.
Sexburga, Queen, wife of Ini, see

^thelburga.
Sexred, see Saexred.
Seythlecester, i. 71.
Shaftesbury, i. clxx, clxxi.
Sheep-shearing, ii. 167.
Shelswell, iii. 389.
Sheovesham (Sevekesham), ii. 121 ;

iii. 363.

Shepishee, ii. 410.

Sheppey, i. cxxxix ; ii. 160 ; iii. 219,

220, 388, 390.
Sherborne, i. clxxi ; ii. 447, 491,

493.
Sherborne, Bishops of, i. clxxxv.
Sherwood Forest, iii. 349.
Shottery (Scottarit), i. clvii.
Shrewsbury, i. 52 ; iii. 349.
Shropshire, i. 50, 51, 328.
Sibba, iii. 13.
Sicily, i. xviii, Ixxiii, 232, 234 ; ii.

60,349.
Sideleshamstede, ii. 449.
Sidlaw Hills, ii. 107.
Sidnaceaster, ii. 401.
Siegfrid, see Sigfrid.
Siesta of the monks, iii. 19, 384.
Sigebald (Sigbald), i. 138; ii. 430.
Sigeberht (the Learned), King of

East Anglia, i. Iviii, cv, clxxxii, 49,

100, loi, 113-115, 120, 131.
Sigeberht (the Good), St., King of

Essex, i. clxxxiii, 99, 100, 138,

139, 151, 152, 224; ii. 426.
Sigeberht (the Little), King of Essex,

i. clxxxii, clxxxiii, 138.
Sigeberht, King of Wessex, iii. 386.
Sigebert, King of Austrasia, i. 100,

296, 300-302; ii. 38.
Sigebrand, Bishop of Paris, i. 166.
Sigegytha, i. cxiv.
Sigfrid (Siegfrid, Sigred), Abbot of

Wearmouth, ii. 243, 276, 301, 303,

304, 306; iii. 5, 6, 149, 152, 352,

366.
Sighard (Sigeheard), King of Essex,

i. clxviii, clxxii, clxxxiii ; ii. 423,

.424.
Sighere (Sigheri), King of Essex, i.

clxxiii, clxxxiii, 152, 223 ; ii. 377,

420-422, 424 ; iii. 209.
Sigred, see Sigfrid.
Silchester, ii. 297.
Silvester, St., Pope, iii. 340, 370.
Simeon, i. 67.
Simon Magus, ii. 309, 311, 315, 316,

487.
Simony, i. xxi, 224, 324 ; ii. 25, 349.
Singing, ii. 69, 70, 298, 307, 308,

456, 463 ; iii. 178, 263, 329.
Sinodum, i. 41.

Sisinand, Visigothic King, i. 197.
Sisinnus, Pope, i. clxxxi ; ii. 353.
Siwara, see Sewara.
Sizentius, ii. 209.
Slaepi, i. clxv.
Slaves and slavery, ii. 118, 272, 372 ;

iii. 250, 255, 257, 259, 261.

436

INDEX

Slavs, i. 232, 298, 299 ; ii. 61-63,

327-
Slovenes, i. 298.
Smith, G., i. clxxv.
Smith, Richard, Bishop of Chalce-

don, iii. 99.
Smith who sang psalms while work-
ing, iii. 134, 135-
Socrates, i. 279.

Soissons, i, 64, 210, 211 ; iii. 183.
Solent, ii. 134.

Solignac, i. 297 ; ii. 259, 264, 268.
Solvente, ii. 134.
Solway Firth, ii. 155; iii. 34, 36,

102, 316.
Somerset, i. cxliii ; ii. 431, 447, 487,

494.
Somerton, ii. 427.
Song, heavenly, i. 359-361.
Soothsayers, ii. 335.
Sorabians, i. 298.
Sotevagina, Archdeacon of York,

iii. 166.
South Angles, i. cv, 35, 49, lOO,

134-136, 140, 223, 330, 349.
South Burton, iii. 155.
South Elmham, see Elmham.
South Minster, i. cxxxix.
South Saxons, i. cv, 214 ; ii. 429-

431-
South Shields, iii. 351, 389.
Southcouton, iii. 59.
Southee, ii. 410.
Southwyke, i. cii.
Soweie, Sowy, see Middlezoy.
Spain, i. xviii, xix, clxxviii, 297 ; ii.

2-20, 72, 340 ; iii. 360, 369.
Spalis, ii. 4.

Spencer, Lord Hugh, i. Ixxix.
Spires, i. 72.
Spondon, iii. 221, 390.
Sponsors, ii. 334 ; iii. 39.
Staffordshire, i. 328, 357; ii. 41.
Stainmoor, i. 133.
Stallington, ii. 34.
Stamford, i. 183 ; iii. 94.
Stamford Bridge, i. 184.
Standard, Battle of the, ii. 241.
Stanford, i. 332.
Stapulford, i. cxxxvi.
Stavelot, i. 297.
Stephanus, eunuch, ii. 325.
Stephen, see /liddi.
Stephen, Abbot of St. Mary, York,

iii. 76.
Stephen, Bishop of Corinth, ii. 79,

81.
Stephen, chaplain, iii. 78.
Stephen 11., Pope, ii. 362.

Stephen, St., i. 67.
Stephens, George, Runic Monu-
ments, i. clxxvi.
Stepmother marriage, i. 241.
Stevenson, J., Church Historians^

i. clxxv.
Stirling, ii. 40.
Stitheard, monk, iii. 58.
Stoches, iii. 210.
Stodmarsh (Stodmersch), i. cxxxvi ;

ii. 129.
Stoke St. Milburgh, iii. 211.
Stokes, Miss, Three Months in the

Forests of France, i. clxxvi.
Stoneham, ii. 136.
Stonyhurst College, iii. 103.
Stour, river, i. cxxxvi ; ii, 129.
Stow, Lincoln, ii. 401.
Stow, Wedale, i. 130.
Stowe, i. 357 ; iii. 388.
Strages Gai, i. 128.
Straiton in Carrick, iii. 36.
Strassburg, ii. 58.
Strathclyde, iii. 34.
Strathearn, i. 36.
Streaneshealh, Streonaeshalch,
Strenaeshalh, Streoneshalch,
Streuneshalae, see Whitby.
Strensall, iii. 192.
Stret, i. cliv.

Stretlea (Stretlee), i. cxlvi ; iii. 348.
Stronglic, dux, i. clxiv.
Strymon, i. 256.
Stubbs, Bishop, i. clxxvi.
Sturia, ii. 361.

Sturige (Sturregia), i. cxxxv, cxxxvi.
Sturmi, St., ii. 257.
Styria, i. 72, 298.

Suaebhard (Suebbaerd, Suebred,
Swaebhard, Swefred), King of
Kent, i. cxxxv, cxxxvi, clxviii-
clxx, clxxiii; ii. 125, 126, 357,
361, 423, 424; see also Swaefred.
Succession, Royal, among Anglo-
Saxons, i. 245, 246.
Succession through females, ii. 106.
Sudaneie (Sudanie), i. cxxxv ; ii.

126.
Suebbaerd, Suebred, see Suaebhard.
Suella, ii. 397.
Suevres, ii. 260.
Suffolk, ii. 52 ; iii. 355.
Suicide, iii. 256.
Suidberht, Abbot, iii. 209.
Suidberht, Bishop, i. xxxviii ; ii. 185,

186.
Suidfrid, King, i. clxxii.
Suidhelm, King of Essex, i. 152,
224 ; ii. 418.

INDEX

437

Suinthila, Visigothic King, i. 297.

Suilhred, see Swaefrcd.

Sulpicius Severus, ii. 488.

Sumerford, i. cxlii,

Sumerled, iii. 78.

Sunday, i. 27, 28 ; ii. 167 ; iii, 245,

246, 255.
Sunday marriages, iii. 248.
Sundial, iii. 308.
Sungeova, iii. 14.
Sunninghall, ii. 120.
Surrey, i. cxlvii, 306 ; ii. 42-44,

357, 424, 431, 447-

Sussex, i. 306, 327, 335 ; ii. 102,
112-118, 132-134, 138, 147, 148,
170, 431, 447, 448; iii. 363.

Suthgedluit, iii. 56.

Suwika, i. cii.

Swaebhard, see Suaebhard.

Swaefred (Swefred), King of Essex, i.
clxxxiii ; ii. 125, 423, 424, 426;
see also Suaebhard.

Swaledale, i. 79.

Swanage, ii. 464.

Swanescamp, i. clxxiii.

Swartebrand, monk, i. 62.

Swearing, ii. 338 ; iii. 176.

Swefred, see Suaebhard, Swaefred.

Swilton, iii. 186.

Swinburn, i. 13.

Swinescar, ii. 197.

Swithelm, King of Kent, i. clxxxiii.

Switzerland, i. xxvi.

Sylviacus, ii. 139.

Symeon of Durham, Works ^ i. cxv.

Symeon Styhtcs, St. 1. Ix.

Synod, Austerfield, i. ex ; ii. 196-202,
207, 225: Baccanchelde, i. cxxxviii-
cxl ; ii. 363 : Clovesho, i. cxxxix,
cxl : Ethcealchy, ii. 385 : Heath-
field, ii. 73-75, 418: Herutford, i.
309, 325; ii- 2, 12, 20-30, 52,
103: lona, i. 16, 17: Milan, ii.
76 : Nidd, ii. 223-226, 364 :
Roman, ii. 68-79, 82 ; iii. 363 :
Twyford, i. clxxiv : West Saxon,
ii. 365 : Whitby, i. cxxxiv, 98,
185-196, 204, 210, 219, 323-325*
370, 371; ii. ^T, iii. 17, 194,357,
358.

Synods, i. xx, xxi, xxxi, xlviii.

Synods to be summoned twice yearly,
ii. 28.

Syracuse, i. 234, 235.

Syria, i. 232, 255, 287, 313, 314.

Tabenna, i. 177.
Tadcaster, iii. 186.
Tai, i. 64.

Talbot, Robert, iii. 349.

Talorcan (Talarcain, Tolarcain), King

of the I'icts, i. 6, 75, 219; ii. 40,

41, 106.
Tamu, ii. 46.

Tamworlh, i. cxlvii ; ii. 46.
Tan, river, i. cli, clii ; ii. 450.
Tangier, ii. 339.
Tangmere, i. clxviii.
Tanionilo, ii. 268.
Tapers, iii. 25